UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA   SAN  DIEGO 


3  1822  00718  2512 


r \ 

LIBRARY    ^ 


UNIVfUSITY    OF 
CALIFORNIA 

SAN  DIEGO 


^ 


n 


Social  Sciences  &  Humanities  Library 

University  of  California,  San  Diego 
Please  Note:   This  item  Is  subject  to  recall. 

Date  Due 


MAY  2  4  2003 

CI  39  (5/97)                                                                             UCSDLib. 

n 


0)5 


HOW  INDIA  WROUGHT 
FOR  FREEDOM 


THE  STORY  OF  THE   NATIONAL  CONGRESS 
TOLD     FROM     OFFICIAL     ^JECORDS 


BY  ANNIE    BESANT 


fHEOSOPHICAL     PUBLISHING     HOUSE 

MuYAR,    MADRAS,     INDIA 
T.  P.  S.,    LONDON;    T.  P.  H.,    BENARES 
"HE    INDIAN     BOOK    DEPOT,     BOMBAY 
915 


DEDICATED 

WITH    PROFOUI^D    DEVOTION    TO    THE 

MOTHERLAND 

AND    WITH    RESPECTFUL    ADMIRATION    TO    HER    NOBLI    SON 

DADABHAI    NAOROJI 

BY    HER    SERVANT 

ANNIE    BESANT 


S^' 


NOTE 

I  offer  most  grateful  thanks  to  a  Fellow  of  the  Theo- 
sophical  Society  who  has  made  the  splendid  Index 
which  adds  quite  indefinitely  to  the  value  of  the  book. 

Annie  Besant 


'  FOREWORD 

Little  is  needed  to  explain  the  pnrpose  of  this 
book.  It  is  a  plain  story  of  India's  constitu- 
tional struggle  for  Freedom,  a  story  so  pathetic 
in  its  patience,  so  strong  in  its  endurance,  so 
far-seeing  in  its  wisdom,  that  it  is  India's  justi- 
fication— if  any  justification  can  be  needed  for 
asserting  the  right  to  Freedom — for  her  demand 
for  Home  Rule. 

The  younger  generation  are  impatient  under 
the  repetition  of  disregarded  demands,  and  they 
are  right.  The  time  has  come  for  the  definite 
agitation  for  Home  Rule,  to  continue  till  it  is 
granted.  But  they  are  wrong  if  they  fail  to 
recognise  that  these  thirty  years  of  work  alone 
make  it  possible  that  the  full  demand  for  Free- 
dom can  now  be  effectively  made.  And  they 
are  doubly  wrong  if  they  are  not  grateful  to 
these  builders  of  the  Indian  Nation,  who,  when 
all  was  dark  around  them,  believed  in  the  dawn- 
ing of  the  Day.  They  have  laid  the  foundation 
on  which  their  youngers  can  build.  Homage 
then   to  the  veterans,  living   still  with   us  here, 


and  living  in  the  world  beyond.  That  the 
younger  generation  may  know  how  splendidly 
they  wrought,  this  book  is  written. 

I  fearlessly  place  this  volume  before  the  pub- 
lic, as  a  proof  of  India's  fitness  for  Home  Rule. 
The  grasp  of  the  questions  dealt  with,  the  saga- 
city of  the  remedies  proposed  for  poverty  and 
misrule,  the  sobriety  of  the  claims  urged,  the 
knowledge  of,  and  the  sympathy  with,  the 
sorrows  of  the  people,  prove  how  much  better  off 
India  would  be  under  Self-E,ule  than  under 
Othei'-Rule.  Let  anj'-  unprejudiced  student  turn 
over  the  Resolutions  passed  by  the  Congress 
during  thirty  years,  and  see  how  it  laid  bare  the 
popular  suffering,  and  how  it  pointed  with  uner- 
ring finger  to  the  causes  of  that  suffering — the 
drain  of  Indian  wealth  to  England,  the  exorbi- 
tant cost  of  the  alien  rule,  the  ever-increasing 
military  expenditure,  the  sacrifice  of  Indian 
industries,  the  land-tax  ever  rising  and  condemn- 
ing the  peasantry  to  perpetual  indebtedness, 
and  to  a  hopeless  poverty  and  semi-starVation 
that  have  no  parallel  in  any  other  civilised 
Nation,  it  is  these  facts,  covered  up  by  officials, 
but  laid  })are  by  tlie  Cono^ress,  whi(;h  make  Home 
]iule  necessary,  if  a  catastrophe  is  to  be  avoided. 


The  daily  insult  of  the  Arms  Act,  the  con- 
stant oppression  of  the  Press  and  Seditious 
Meetings  Acts,  the  exclusion  of  Indians  from 
the  higher  grades  of  the  Army,  the  Police,  the 
Educational  Service,  and  a  score  of  other 
wrongs,  while  bitterly  felt  by  a  high-spirited 
people,  have  not  in  them  the  immediate  menace 
that  lies  in  the  grinding  poverty  of  the  masses 
of  the  population.  People  become  more  or  less 
accustomed  to  the  "  atmosphere  of  inferiority," 
and  oppression,  long  submitted  to,  at  last  dulls 
pride  and  weakens  self-respect.  But  people 
never  become  accustomed  to  Hunger,  and  they 
become  desperate  when  they  see  no  hope  of  relief 
for  themselves,  nor  for  their  children  after  them. 
The  danger  to  British  Rule  lies  far  more  in 
the  misery  of  the  masses  than  in  the  discontent 
of  the  educated.  To  call  attention  to  that 
danger  before  it  is  too  late,  this  book  is  issued. 

The  Historical  Introduction  is  the  background 
of  the  story.  It  is  the  testimony  of  5,000  years 
to  India,'s  success  in  ruling  herself.  Let  Indian 
history  be  set  side  by  side  with  European 
history — with  what  there  is  of  the  latter — 
century  by  century,  and  let  us  see  whether  India 
need  blush  at  the   comparison.     Take  but  the 


sixteenth,  seventeenth,  eighteenth  centurie?,  to 
go  back  no  further.  Compare  Akbar's  tolerance 
with  the  persecution  of  Protestants  by  i\lary, 
of  Roman  Catholics  by  Elizabeth,  and  of 
Puritans  by  James  and  Charles.  Read  the 
Penal  I  ;aws  against  Roman  Catholics  in  Ireland, 
and  ask  if  the  English,  who  enacted  and 
enforced  them,  were  fit  for  Self-Government. 
See  the  misery  and  starvation  of  France  in  the 
eighteenth  century  ending  in  the  Revolution, 
review  the  Peasants'  War  in  Germany,  the 
constant  Wars  in  Italy,  the  turbulence  of 
Hungary  and  Poland,  the  royal  murders  and 
revolutions  in  England,  and  say  if  all  these 
countries  Avere  more  fit  for  Self-Government 
than  India.  Yet  they,  unworthy,  took  it,  and 
have  purified  themselves  by  it,  becoming  more 
fit  in  the  using  of  it.  India,  more  worthy  than 
they  to  take  it,  is  deemed  unfit.  The  only  argu- 
ment against  India's  fitness  is  her  submission. 

JMay  this  book  help  Britain  to  understand  the 
shame  of  her  autocratic  rule  in  India,  her  broken 
pledges,  her  selfishness,  her  preference  of  her 
own  to  India's  interests.  May  it  help  India  to 
realise  Ikm-  duty  to  Herself. 

Annuo  Besant 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


Foreword 

Historical  Introduction 

Chapter  I 

Chaiter  II 

Chapter  III 

Chapter  IV 

Chapter  V 

Chapter  VI 

Chapter  VII 

Chapter  VIII 

Chapter  IX 

Chapter  X 

Chapter  XI 

Chapter  XJI 

Chapter  XIII 

Chapter  XIV 

Chapter  XV 

Chapt'er  XVI 


Chapter  XVII    . 
Chapter  XVIII. 
Chapter  XIX     . 
Chapter  XX 
Chapter  XXI 

Chapter  XXII    . 
Chapter  XXITI  . 
Pakt  I 
II 
Chai'Ter  XXIV  . 
Chapter  XXV    . 
Chapter  XXVI 
Chapter  XXV 11 
Chapter  XXVIII 
Chapter  XXIX 
Appendix  -.  Chapter  XXVII. 
Index 

IJiiii.iiKjKAi'iiy  (<v  His 
Errata 


ORICAL    InTRODDCTION 


HISTORICAL  INTRODUCTION 

AND     SOME 

DEDUCTIONS  AND  ANTICIPATIONS 
THE  DAWNING 

The  great  Nations  of  the  far  Past  spring  suddenly 
on  to  the  stage  of  history,  as  Bunsen  said  of  Egypt, 
full-grown.  Truer  perhaps  would  be  the  simile,  if  we 
said  that  a  curtain  rises,  and  we  see  the  Nation  on  the 
stage,  full-panoplied,  complete,  as  no  Nation  could  be 
without  centuries,  perhaps  millennia,  of  civilisation 
behind  it.  This  is  true  of  India,  as  of  Assyria,  Persia, 
Egypt,  but  in  one  thing  India  differs  from  those  Avhose 
conteinporary  she  was.  They  are  dead.  She  still 
lives ;  and  in  these  modern  days  she  is  showing  a 
vigour  and  a  strength  which  bid  fair  to  place  her  again 
in  the  forefront  of  the  world's  history.  They  are 
known  by  unburied  cities,  by  ruins,  by  fragments,  by 
papyri,  by  tiles,  by  coins,  found  by  burrowing  in  their 
sepulchres.  India  is  continuous,  with  a  history  running 
backwards  to  most  archaic  times — how  ancient,  who 
may   say  ? — and   she  has  a   literature  which  ako  runs 


n  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

backward,  claiming  an  antiquity  not  yet  acknowledged 
in  the  West :  Yedas,  Institutes,  Puranas,  Epic  Poems, 
which,  as  regards  the  historical  books — the  Puranas, 
and  the  Epics — can  be  checked  in  their  later  records 
as  regards  dynasties,  by  Greek  history,  and  yet  more 
by  the  fragments  of  the  past  dug  up  from  time  to  time. 
Says  Vincent  A.  Smith  : 

Modei'ii  writers  have  been  inclined  to  disparage  unduly  the 
.luthority  of  the  paurSnic  lists,  but  closer  study  finds  in  them  much 
genuine  and  valuable  historical  tradition.  For  instance  the  Vishnu 
Piirana  gives  the  outline  of  the  history  of  the  Maurya  dynasty  with 
a  near  approach  to  accuracy,  and  the  Redcliffe  numuscript  of  the 
Mntsyn  is  equally  trustworthy  for  Andhra  history.  Pi-oof  of  the  sur- 
prising extent  to  which  coins  and  inscriptions  confirm  the  Mctsija 
list  of  the  Andhra  Kings  has  recently  been  published.' 

Entrancing  as  are  the  records  of  the  far-off  times, 
the  stories  of  Sages  and  Warriors,  of  Ramachandra, 
the  Hero-King  of  the  Rdvulyana,  of  the  doings  in 
peace  and  war  of  the  Kauravas  and  Pandavas  and  Shri 
Krshi.ia,  tliat  make  the  story  of  the  MahabJiarafa,  of 
these  who  live  by  scores  and  hundreds  enshrined  in 
legend,  tradition,  drama,  song,  and — the  greatest  of 
them — live  still  more  vitally  in  Indian  hearts  and  prayers 
and  ceremonies  to-day,  showing  the  historical  continuity 
— from  all  of  these  we  must  turn  aside  for  want  of  space 
with  only  this  one  fact  writ  large  :  //  i.s  on  this  IHcra- 
tnrr  ami  0)1  tlm  past  emhodied  in  it  that  the  foundation 
of  hidian  NationaJify  is  indestructilAy  laid.  The 
Natioiial  Self-consciousness  strikes  its  roots  deeply  into 

^  Early  Hixtory  of  ln>li„,  p.  KJ,  Kd.  1908.  In  .so  brief  a  sketch, 
it  IB  bottiT  not  t<j  overburden  the  j)age8  with  continuous  referen- 
COB,  but  a  bib]i<>grai)hy  of  tlic  books  consulted  on  the  history  here 
condensed,  whicli  will  guide  the  serious  student  in  his  researcii,  will 
bo    found    at  the  enri  of  this  Introduction. 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  111 

this  rich  soil,  and  whatever  may  contribute  to  its 
later  growth — and  the  contributions  are  enormous — the 
Nation's  Life  and  Unity  are  rooted  here.  He  who 
knows  nothing  of  the  infinite  wealth  of  this  "  unhistori- 
cal  "  past  will  never  understand  the  Indian  heart  and 
mind,  and  Sir  Valentine  Chirol,  in  his  malicious  and 
unscrupulous  book  on  Indian-  Unrest^  saw  accurately 
the  truth  that  from  the  "  Hindu  Revival"  was  born  the 
National  Movement  of  Modern  India,  as  from  a  similar 
Revival  was  born  the  Maratha  Confederacy.  Moreover, 
very  many  of  the  institutions  and  customs  of  "  histori- 
cal "  times  are  continuous  with  those  of  the  "  legendary  " 
past,  and  are  incomprehensible  and  without  significance 
save  for  that  past.  The  horse-sacrifices  of  Pushyamitra 
in  the  second  century  B.C.,  of  Adityasenain  the  seventh 
century  A.D.,  link  with  the  tradition  of  that  of  Sagara, 
uncounted  millennia  backward,  and  with  that  of 
Yudhishthira  in  3000  B.C.  odd — in  each  equally  the. 
sign  of  the  acknowledged  Lord  Paramount  of  India  as 
a  whole.  So  again  with  the  Pafichayat,  "  the  Five," 
whether  the  Council  of  A^illage  Elders  of  time  immemo- 
rial, or  Chandragupta's  Boards  in  the  fourth  century 
B.C.  India  is  a  continuum,  and  her  Aryan  civilisa- 
tion an  unbroken  whole.  There  are  invasions  and 
conquests,  periods  of  strength  and  weakness,  of  unity 
and  division,  in  her  feonian  story.  But  she  is  alwaj^s 
India  ;  always  Aryan,  the  Mother  Imperishable,  who 
has  borne  uncounted  millions  from  her  womb,  but 
whose  own  birth  no  historian  can  guess  at,  whose  death 
no  prophet  can  foretell.  And  this  it  is  well  to 
remember,    in    our  judgments   of   to-day.      AVith   an 


IV  HOW    INDIA    WKOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

admitted  history  of  nearly  5,000  years,  from  the 
commerce  between  India  and  Babylon,  according  to 
Dr.  Sayce,  in  3000  B.C.,^  and  the  proofs  of  high  civilisa- 
tion and  wealth  then  existing ;  with  an  admitted 
literature  of  at  least  7,000  years  ;  the  period  of  English 
rule  in  India,  barely  a  century  and  a  half,  is 
microscopically  small,  a  tiny  ripple  on  her  ocean. 
Invasions  How  and  ebb  ;  conquerors  come  and  go ;  India 
assimilates  what  is  left  of  them,  is  the  richer  for  them, 
and  remains  herself.  She  did  without  England  for 
millewnia,  and  flourished  amazingly;  she  could  do 
without  England  for  millennia  to  come ;  but  the  two 
need  each  other,  and  will  be  the  better  for  each  other 
in  the  near  future,  and  India  desires  to  be  linked  with 
England  in  tliat  future,  but  on  a  footing  of  perfect 
equality,  and  on  nona  other. 

INDIA'S  MIDDLE  HISTORY 

The  Comixg  of  thk  Aryans 

'I'lirj  were  no  wild  tribes  that  crossed  tlie  Iliinala- 
yan  i)asses  and  flooded  India  in  successive  waves  of 
invasion  from  18000  l?.C.  onwards."  They  came  from 
an  archaic  Middk;  Asian  civilisation,  the  cradle  of  the 
Aryas,  whence  came  successively  the  immigrants 
who  made  the  Mediterranean  civilisatioif,  colonised 
Persia  and  Mesopotamia,  and  sent  the  forefathers  of 
the  Latin,  Slav  and  Teuton  Nations  to  people  Europe. 
Later,   tbey  came  dowu   into  India,  penetrated  first  to 

'  Uililicil  Lrrturi'H,  1H87,  (|UoH'tl  in  Indian  Sliippiiiy,  p.  80,  Kd.  1912. 
*  Tliis  first  jmrafjnii)h  is  nut  "  historiu  "• 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  V 

the  south — the  Aryan  Dravidians — and  later  settled  in 
the  north.  But  this  is  still  the  region  of  dreams,  and  no 
sober  western  historian  will  yet  accept  it.  And  yet  per- 
haps this  is  hardly  so,  for  Sir  William  Hunter,  though  he 
gives  no  dates,  speaks  of  the  Aryan  home  as  in  Central 
Asia,  of  settlements  round  the  shores  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, of  a  western  offshoot  founding  Persia,  of 
another  becoming  the  Greek  Nation,  Italy  and  Rome, 
Spain  and  Britain,  and  of  others  descending  through 
the  passes  of  the  Himalayas  into  India. 

It  is  not  without  significance,  as  Professor  Radha- 
kumud  Mukerji  points  out  in  his  Fundamental  Unity 
of  India,  that  India  is  one  country  in  her  religious 
literature.  She  is  Jaiiibudvipa — Ashoka  is  called 
"King  of  Jambudvipa,"  and Bharatavarsha,  Aryavarta; 
"  India "  is  a  name  given  by  foreigners.  In  Hindu 
prayers,  the  names  of  the  great  rivers  are  recited,  the 
northern  only  in  the  earlier,  later  the  southern  as  well, 
as  the  Aryans  spread  southward.  The  sacred  places 
range  from  Hard  war  to  Kanchi,  and  later,  Badari- 
kedarnath  to  Rameshvara,  from  Dvaraka  to  Jagannath. 
And  the  people,  ever  reciting  these,  knew  them  all  as 
in  their  Motherland.  Pilgrimages  took  the  devout  to 
all  of  these  as  Hindu.  The  student  will  find  in  that 
useful  little  book  many  more  proofs  that  India  was  a 
unity,  had,*  even  then,  a  National  Self -consciousness  in 
her  religion.  Patriotism  was  inspired  and  hallowed 
by  these  loving  recitations. 

Despite  the  fact  that  "  India's  history  only  begins 
with  Alexander,"  as  western  writers  say,  we  submit  in 
passing    that,    as  above  noted,  Babylon  was  trading 


VI  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    TOH    FREEDOM 

witli  her  in  3000  B.C.  ;  that  Serairamis  of  Nineveh 
invaded  India  in  2034  B.C.  and  penetrated  as  far 
as  Jammu,  as  stated  on  a  column  erected  by  her, 
and  was  finally  put  to  flight  by  an  Indian  Prince, 
named  Strabrobates  by  Diodorus  Siculus;  that 
mummies  in  Egyptian  tombs,  dating  from  2000  B.C. 
have  been  found  wrapped  in  Indian  muslin  of 
the  finest  quality,  and  that  their  indigo  dye  is  said 
to  have  come  from  India  ;  that  Diodorus  Siculus  tells 
of  an  invasion  of  India,  981  B.C.,  by  Rameses  II ;  that 
Hiram  of  Tyre,  980  B.C.  traded  with  India  from 
harbours  in  the  Arabian  Gulf,  and  Tamil  names  for 
Indian  products  are  found  in  the  Hebrew  Bible.^ 
There  is  plenty  of  evidence  by  such  contacts,  apart 
from  Indian  literature,  of  a  civilisation  rivalling  at 
least  those  of  Egypt  and  Assyria. 

In  A.D.  883,  the  first  Englishman  whose  visit  to 
India  is  recorded,  was  Sighelmas,  Bishop  of  Sherborne, 
sent  l)y  King  Alfred  (A.D.  849-901)  to  visit  the 
Christian  Church,  named  after  S.  Thomas.  He  travelled 
comfortably,  and  brought  back  to  England  "  many 
splendid  exotic  gems  and  spices,  such  as  that  country 
l)l('ntifully  yielded".  '" 

"  HisTOKv  ■■  Begins 
For  our   purjwses   we  can   arbitrarily  begin   at  the 
period  recognised  as  "  historical  "  by  the  wider  western 

'  Indian  Shipping,  p.  89, 

"  Thi'80  facts  and  luany  otliors  of  undoubted  historicity,  may  be 
found  HuininariHcd  in  the  Manual  of  Aihninistralioi,  of  the  Madras 
Prenidcnnj—n  book  containinf,'  a  vast  aniouiit  of  inforination,  with 
Bonie  astounding  lapsi-s  of  knowledge. 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  Vll 

historians,  the  middle  of  the  7th  century  B.  C,  when 
we  find,  as  said  above,  highly  civilised  communities — 
having  existed  there  "  for  untold  centuries,"  admits 
Vincent  Smith — commerce  with  foreign  countries  going 
on,  making  India  "  historical,"  the  knowledge  of 
writing  widely  spread,  and  the  country  between  the 
Himalayas  and  the  Nerbudda  river  divided  into  sixteen 
States — some  monarchical,  some  aristocratic-republican 
— with  great  stretches  of  forests,  jungles,  and  unsettled 
lands  interspersed  among  them.  The  beginning  of  the 
seventh  century,  A.D.  600,  sees  the  first  "historical" 
dynasty  ruling  over  Magadha  (Bihar).  In  the  time 
of  the  Lord  Buddha — a  time  of  obviously  high 
civilisation  and  much  philosophical  discussion  (623  B.C. 
to  543  B.C.  according  to  Sinhalese  traditions,  died 
487  B.C.  according  to  Vincent  Smith) — Kosala  (Oudh) 
and  Magadha  stand  out  prominently,  Kosala  being 
the  premier  State  and  having  swallowed  up  Kashi 
(Benares),  Very  soon  afterwards  Magadha  took 
the  lead,  including  the  territory  from  the  Himalayas 
to  the  Cxanga,  with  Pataliputra  (where  Patna  and 
Bankipur  are  now)  as  capital^ — the  first  capital  of 
India  in  "  historical "  times,  as  we  shall  see  later. 

Ajatashatru,  its  founder  and  the  King  of  Magadha, 
was  contemporary  with  Darius  of  Persia  (521-485 
B.C.),  who  annexed  Sindh  and  part  of  the  Panjab,  and 
formed  them  into  a  Persian  satrapy,  interesting  to  us 
merely  from  the  proof  of  the  enormous  wealth  at  that 
time  of  that  part  of  India — impljang  thereby  high 
civilisation — for  it  paid  an  annual  tribute  in  gold-dust 
equal  to  one  million  pounds  sterling. 


Vlll  now   INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

We  can  pass  on  to  the  first  "  historical  "  P]mperor  of 
India,  Chandra  Mori,  or  Chandragupta ;  he  came, 
according  to  the  pauranic  lists,  from  a  braiich  of  the 
Pramaras,  one  of  the  thirty-six  royal  races,  of  the  "  line 
of  the  Sun,"  descended  from  King  Ramachandra  or 
one  of  his  brothers ;  the  Pramaras  were  one  of  the  four 
Agnikulas,  "  Fire  Families,"  descended  from  his  brother 
Bharata.  Chandragupta  was  thefounderof  the  Maurya 
dynasty,  and  seized  the  throne  of  Magadha  in  321  B.C. 
Six  years  before  that  date  Alexander  the  Great  had  in- 
vaded what  is  now  Afghanistan ;  crossing  the  Hindu 
Khush,  fighting  his  way  to  the  Indus,  and,  crossing  it 
about  ]\Iai-ch,  826  B.C.,  he  entered  on  Indian  soil, 
"  which  no  European  traveller  or  invader,"  says 
Vincent  Smith,  "  had  ever  before  trodden " — a  rash 
and  mistaken  statement.  Alexander  did  not  remain 
long;  he  advanced  to  and  crossed  the  Jhelum,  defeated 
I'oros,  penetrated  beyond  Sialkot  into  Jannnu,  and 
then,  much  against  his  will,  forced  by  a  nuitiny  in  his 
army,  began  his  retreat  in  September  of  the  same  year, 
and  quitted  India  Hnally  about  September,  325,  and 
marched  to  Persia,  reaching  Susa  in  April-lMay,  324. 
His  death  in  323  put  an  end  to  his  hopes,  and  young 
Chandragupta — belonging  to  the  Magadha  royal 
family,  l)ut  unfriendly  to  its  head  and  in  exile — gather- 
ed an  army,  attacked  the  Greeks  left  in  "ihe  Panjab 
and  Sindli,  drove  them  out  and  subdued  the  country. 
lie  ihcii  aiiackcd  the  King  of  Magadha,  and  seated 
liiniscH'  on  his  throne,  added  to  his  troops  till  he 
gathei-ed  an  army  of  090,000  men — infantry,  cavalry, 
chariots   and   elephants — swept  everything  before  him 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  IX 

with  amazing  celerity,  and  finally  established  himself 
as  Emperor  ot"  India,  ruling  from  the  Hindu  Khush  to 
the  Nerbudda,  from  the  Arabian  Sea  to  the  l^ay  of 
Bengal. 

The   Emperors  of  India 

The  organisation  of  his  Empire  by  this  extraordinary 
man  was  as  marvellous  as  his  military  capacity. 
Megasthenes,  the  Greek,  lived  for  some  time  in  Patali- 
putra,  Chandragupta  's  capital,  observed  closely  his 
administration  in  all  its  details,  and  left  his  observa- 
tions on  record;  so  we  are  on  ground  that  cannot  be 
challenged.  Hunter  sums  up  the  views  of  Megas- 
thenes as  follows  : 

The  Greek  ambassador  observed  with  admiration  the  absence 
of  slavery  in  India,  the  chastity  of  the  women,  and  the  courag-e  of 
the  men.  In  valour  they  excelled  all  other  Asiatics;  they  required 
no  locks  to  their  doors  ;  above  all,  no  Indian  was  ever  known  to  tell 
a  lie.  Sober  and  industrious,  good  farmers,  and  skilful  artisans,  they 
scarcely  ever  had  recourse  to  a  lawsuit,  and  lived  peaceably  under 
their  native  Chiefs.  The  kingly  government  is  portra3^ed  almost 
as  described  in  the  Code  of  Manu.  Megasthenes  mentions  that 
India  was  divided  into  118  kingdoms  ;  some  of  which,  as  the  Prasii 
under  Chandragupta,  exercised  suzerain  powers.  The  village 
system  is  well  described,  each  little  rural  unit  seeming  to  the 
Greek  an  independent  republic.  Megasthenes  remarked  the  exemp- 
tion of  the  husbandmen  (Vaishyas)  from  war  and  public  services; 
and  enumerates  the  dyes,  fibres,  fabrics,  and  products  (animal, 
vegetable,  and  mineral)  of  India. ^ 

Megasthenes  tells  how  Chandragupta  had  established 
a  War  Office  of  30  members,  divided  into  six  Boards 
each  of  five  members — Panchayats  :   I.    Admiralty,  in 

'  Hunter's  Brief  Hintory  of  the  Indian  People,  pp.  77,  78  (printed 
for  the  Madras  Schools)  1881.  Perhaps  because  intended  tt)  tench 
Indian  boys,  it  is  often  unfair  and  prejudiced,  e.g.,  in  its  account  of 
the  great  Shivaji. 


X  HOW    INDIA    WKOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

touch    with     Admiral ;    II.    Transport,    Commissariat, 
Army  Service;  III.  Infantry ;    IV.  Cavah-y ;  V.  War- 
chariots;  VI.  Elephants.     The  civil  administration  was 
similar,    and     Megasthenes     describes     specially    the 
Municipality   of    Pataliputra,   consisting   again   of   30 
members,  divided  into  six  Pafichayats  :  I.     is  specially 
interesting   as   showing   the    care — noticeable   in   the 
books  describing  "  pre-historic  "    times — exercised  by 
the    State    over    Arts   and    Crafts;    it   supervised   all 
industrial   matters,   materials,    wages,  etc.     II.  looked 
after   foreigners,     acting   as   Consuls,   Vincent    Smith 
remarks,  and  giving  proof  that  the   Empire  "  was  in 
constant  intercourse  with  foreign  States  ".     III.  was  in 
charge  of  the  registration  of  births  and  deaths,  rigidly 
kept  as  a  basis  for  taxation.     IV.  looked  after  trade, 
and  kept  the  official  weights  and  measures  to  which  all 
must   conform.     X.  supervised   manufactures,  and  VI, 
collected   the  tax  of  a  tithe  of   the  value  of  all  goods 
sold.     The  Municipality  as  a  whole  was  responsible  for 
markets,   harbours,    temples,   etc.      The    Empire   was 
divided  into    Provinces  ruled  by  Viceroys,  and  officers 
travelled  over  the  land,  inspecting.     It  is  noticed,  as  so 
often  in  later  times,  that  the  Indians  bore  the  highest 
reputation   for  truth   and  hcmesty.     Irrigation   had  its 
own  Department,  which  regulated  "  the  sluices  by  wliicli 
water    is  distributed   into   the  branch   canals,  so   that 
every  one  may  enjuy  his  fair  share  of  the  benefit,"  says 
Megastiienes.    A  mass  (jf  details  has  been  accumulated, 
and   may  be  found  in  the  Arf  of  iTOvernniPnt,  ascribed 
to  Chanakya,  Chaiidragnpta's  Brahmana  minister,  that 
has  been  translated.      The  Emperor  died  297  B.C.,  and 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  XI 

was  succeeded  by  Bindusara,  his  son,  and  either  the 
fathei"  or  son  extended  the  Empire  almost  as  far  south 
as  what  is  now  Madras.  He  was  followed  by  Ashoka, 
who  added  to  the  Empire  the  Kingdom  of  Kalinga  on 
the  Bay  of  Bengal,  and  he  ruled  for  40  years — 273  or 
2  B.C.  to  282  or  1 — from  the  Hindu  Khush  to  Madras. 
The  Andhra  State  (Andhradesha),  between  the 
Godaveri  and  the  Kistna,  had  its  own  Raja,  acknow- 
ledging Ashoka's  overlordship,  but  the  Pandya, 
Chola,  Keralaputra  and  Satyaputra  States,  occupying 
the  extreme  south,  were  independent.  Four  Viceroys 
administered  the  north-western,  eastern,  western  and 
southern  Provinces,  Ashoka  himself  administering  the 
central.  His  wisdom,  his  jDower,  his  piety,  his  splendour, 
are  they  not  written  in  his  edicts,  engraved  on  Rock 
and  Pillar,  and  by  these  his  Empire  was  ruled.  Rock 
Edict  II  and  Pillar  Edict  VII  declare  : 

On  the  roads  I  have  had  banyan  trees  planted  to  give  shade  to 
man  and  beast ;  I  have  had  groves  of  mango-trees  planted  :  and  at 
every  half  kos  I  have  had  wells  dug :  rest-houses  have  been  erected ; 
and  numerous  watering-places  have  been  prepared  here  and 
there  for  the  enjoyment  of  man  and  beast. 

Care  of  the  sick,  distribution  of  drugs  and  herbs, 
hospitals  for  animals,  were  among  his  institutions. 

After  his  death,  many  Provinces  broke  away,  until 
the  sixth  of  his  descendants,  Brehidrita,  or  Brihadratha, 
was  expelled  from  Magadha,  184  B.C.,  and  seized 
Dhar  and  Chittoor  in  Mewar,  Rajputana,  where  his 
descendants  ruled  till  A.D.  730.  But  Vincent  Smith 
says  he  was  assassinated  by  Pushyamitra,  the  command- 
er of  his  army.  The  Mori  Chiefs  certainly  reigned  in 
Mewar,  and  the  transfer  as  stated  is  probable.     In  any 


xii  HOW    INDIA    WROUOnT    FOR    FREEDOM 

case,  the  Maurya  dynasty  in  Magadha  ended,  and 
I^usliyaniitra  founded  a  new  dynasty,  the  Sunga. 
Moreover  he  finally  celebrated  the  horse-sacrifice  a 
few  years  before  liis  death,  in  148  B.C.,  being  acknow- 
ledged as  Lord  Paramount.  His  dynasty  came  to  an 
end  in  74  B.C.,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Kanva 
dynasty  of  four  short-lived  Kings,  the  last  of  whom 
perished  in  27  B.C.  at  the  hands  of  the  ruler  of  the 
great  Andhra  Kingdom. 

The  Kingdoms  of  India 

The  unitj^  of  India  for  the  time  had  gone,  as 
embodied  in  an  Empire,  and  great  Kingdoms  arose 
and  flourished.  In  the  south  the  Andhra  Nation 
(later  the  Telugu-speaking  population),  occupying  the 
Deccan,  which  had  acknowledged  the  overlordship 
of  Ashoka,  after  his  death  became  independent,  in 
220  B.C.,  extended  its  sway  as  far  as  Niisik,  thus 
stretching  across  India,  and  coming  into  toncli  with, 
and  striving  to  hold,  Grujerat  and  Kathiawar.  From 
A.D.  S^) — \'4S,  the  Andhras  were  constantly  struggling 
on  their  western  borders  with  invading  foreigners,  and 
ultimately  Kathiawar,  Sindh  and  Cutch  passed  from 
Andhra  hands  into  those  of  the  invaders.  The  Andhra 
kingdom  lasti'd  anothci-  liuiKJrcd  years,  ending  in 
A.D.  2:J0. 

South  of  the  KistiKi  was  tlie  'laiiiil  i-oiiutiy,  divided 
into  tour  kiiif.;(lonis  :  I  'a  iidya,  in  the  south,  with  Madura 
as  capital  ;  Cliola,  with  the  river  Pennar  to  the  north 
and  I'andya  to  the  south;  while  Keralaputi-a  lay 
between   it  and  the  western  sea,  the  later  Malabar;  and 


HISTOBICAL    INTRODUCTION  Xlll 

Satyapiitra  was  a  small  State  round  the  present 
Mangalore.  The  Tamil  land  was  wealthy  and  civil- 
ised and  inhabited  by  a  great  trading  people.  They 
exported  pepper,  pearls  and  beryls  chieflj^,  and 
did  an  immense  ti'ade,  especially  with  Egypt 
and  Rome.  We  read  of  an  embassy  to  congra- 
tulate Augustus  Caesar  in  20  B.C.,  mentioned  by 
Strabo.  The  routes  chiefly  followed  were  those  by 
the  Persian  (lulf  and  the  Red  Sea,  the  monsoon  weather, 
May  to  August,  being  avoided  by  the  merchants.  In 
the  14th  century,  Marino  Sanuta,  a  Venetian  noble,  said 
that  goods  of  small  bulk  and  high  value — spices, 
pearls,  gems — went  to  a  Persian  Grulf  port,  then  up  the 
Tigris  to  Bassorah,  thence  to  Baghdad.  More  bulky 
goods  went  by  the  Red  Sea,  crossed  the  desert,  and 
down  the  Nile  to  Alexandria.  Dacca  fabrics  were 
favourite  wear  in  Rome  in  the  imperial  Court.  This 
Roman  trade  led  to  the  establishment  of  Roman 
Colonies  among  the  Tamils  during  the  first  and  second 
centuries  A. D.  Roman  coins  circulated,  and  some  bronze 
vessels  from  the  West  have  been  dug  up  intheNilgiris. 
Tamil  literature  grew  abundantly  during  the  first  three 
centuries,  and  music,  painting  and  sculpture  flourished. 
The  Manual  of  the  Administration  of  the  Madras 
Presidency,  putting  the  events  of  the  Rdmayaiia  at 
2000  B.C.  '(an  absurdly  late  date  from  the  Hindu 
standpoint),  notes  that  Rama  met  Agastya,  the  great 
Sage  of  South  India  ;  and  that  Agastya  had  much  in- 
fluence over  an  early  Pandyan  King,  Kulashekara. 
For  our  purposes  we  may  take  the  kingdom  as  it 
existed  in  543   B.C.,   when  Vijaya,   from  the  Cangetic 


XIV  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

region,  invaded  Ceylon,  and  married  a  daughter  of  the 
reigning  Pandyan  King.  Madura,  the  capital,  was 
famous  for  its  learning,  and  had  a  famous  Sangha,  or 
Collegium,  an  assembly  of  learned  men,  and  among 
them  Tiruvalluvar,  the  author  of  the  famous  poem, 
Kural.'  The  storj^  of  the  Pandyan  Kingdom's  struggles 
with  Chola,  and  of  its  invasions  of  Ceylon,  shows  a 
powerful  State ;  and  it  continued,  passing  through 
many  vicissitudes,  down  to  1731,  when  its  last  Hindu 
Monarch  died,  leaving  a  widow,  Minakshi  Ammal,  who 
adopted  a  son,  Imt  was  attacked  and  betrayed,  and 
poisoned  herself  in  Trichinopoly  Fort — a  Kingdom  of 
more  than  2,000  years  within  "historical"  limits, 
ending  in  a  tragedy  in  the  frightful  18th  century. 

The  Chola  Kingdom  was,  as  we  have  seen,  an  inde- 
pendent State  in  the  time  of  Ashoka,  and  like  Pandya 
was  actively  commercial,  sending  its  ships  across  the 
Bay  of  Bengal  and  tlie  Indian  Ocean  eastwards,  and 
internal  commerce  being  afso  carried  on,  goods  from 
the  east  going  to  Kerala  and  Kerala  sending  Egyptian 
merchandise  to  Chola.  Both  the  Chola  and  the 
IVndya  kingdoms  suffered  much  from  the  depredations 
of  the  Pallavas,  thought  by  some  to  be  an  immigrating 
offshoot  from  the  Parthian  Pahlavas,  who  invaded 
nortli-west  Tiidi;i.  When  Hiiicii  'I'sang  in  A.D.  640 
visited     Kiinchi,    wlicre    tlic    I 'alhi  v;is    had' established 


^  The  date  of  the  Kural  is  a  matter  of  dispute.  Mr.  V.  Kanaka- 
sabhai,  in  The  Tnuiih  l,8fX)  years  ago,  jjuts  it  between  A.  n.  100 
and  lliO.  Dr.  K.  Graul,  wlio  translated  it  into  German,  says  between 
A.  u.  2(X)  and  800.  The  Rev.  iMr.  Pojje,  who  translated  it  into  English, 
says  A.I).  800  to  10(X).  'J'he  EncyclopiPilia  Britannica  offers  from  the 
9th  or  10th  century  to  the  13th. 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  XV 

themselves,  he  mentions  the  Chela  people,  just  then  in 
a  depressed  condition.  The  Pallavas  had  no  fixed 
borders,  but  are  said  to  have  lived  as  a  predatory 
tribe ;  this  seems  scarcely  likely,  as  they  were  powerful 
from  the  4th  to  the  8th  century  A.D.,  but  they  were 
crushed,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all,  by  a  Chola  Raja 
Aditya,  between  about  880  and  907.  Then  the  Chola 
Kingdom  grew  and  flourished  exceedingly,  until  the 
beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century ;  its  capitals  at 
different  periods  were  Warriore,  a  suburb  of  Tri- 
chinopoly,  Kumbhakonani  andTanjore.  It  was  crippled 
by  the  Muhammadan  invasion  of  South  India  in  1310, 
and  though  the  invaders  were  driven  out  again  in  1347, 
Chola  soon  after  disappears. 

Kerala  occupied  the  western  coast,  comprising  the 
present  Travancore,  Cochin  and  Malabar,  trading 
chiefly  with  Egypt  and  Arabia.  Its  history  has  been 
largely  recovered  of  late  years,  and  teems  with  interest, 
most  of  it  living  unbrokenlj^  from  its  ancient  past  right 
down  to  the  present  day,  under  its  own  Princes.  Owing 
to  the  constant  communication  with  the  West,  Christ- 
ianity was  early  introduced  into  Kerala,  some  say  in 
the  first  century  A.D.  by  S.  Thomas ;  others,  including 
Vincent  Smith,  in  the  sixth  century  from  the  Syrian 
Church.  The  matter  is  not  important  for  us,  as 
Christianitj?  made  no  way  outside  Kerala,  and  is  not  a 
factor  in  India  during  her  long  and  prosperous  life. 
It  came  to  her  with  European  trading  companies,  and 
her  loss  of  power  and  prosperity. 

In  Northern  India,  owing  to  the  powerful  Kingdoms 
beyond  the   north-west  frontier  and  also  to  raids  and 


XVI  now    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

imiin'oi-ations  From  China  and  Central  Asia,  the  break 
up  of  the  Mauryan  Empire  brought  about  disturbed 
conditions  for  many  centuries;  Bactria  and  l^arthia. 
ruled  by  Princes  of  Greek  descent,  became  independent 
States,  breaking  the  yoke  of  the  Seleukidas  in  the 
middle  of  the  third  century  B.C. ;  they  invaded  the 
north-western  districts  from  time  to  tin'.e,  and  much  of 
the  I'aiijab  and  the  Indus  valley  was  definitely  under 
Greco- L'arthian  rule  (Indo- Parthian  or  Tudo-Greek), 
froui  about  11)0  15. C".  to  A.D.  50,  and  these  were  finally 
crushed  l)y  the  Kustans  about  A.D.  90.  These  invasions 
produced  but  little  effect  and  wrought  little  destruction. 
It  was  other  with  hordes  of  nomad  tribes,  which  swept 
down  from  the  Central  Asian  steppes  and  China, 
destroying  as  they  passed,  from  170  B.C.  onwards,  some 
even  reaching  Ivathiawar,  where  they  settled,  founding 
a  Saka  dynasty,  destroyed  A.D.  390.  Among  these  the 
Yiuli-(.lii  trom  China  definitely  established  themselves, 
crushing  out  the  Indo-Parthian  kingdon),  and  establish- 
ing their  own — the  Kushan  dynasty — under  Kadi)liises 
I  ami  II,  the  latter  sending  an  embassy  to  Rome  to 
Trajan,  about  A.D.  !>9,  to  announce  his  conquests.  He 
I'uled  the  whole  north-west  of  India,  from  Benares  as 
easterumost  pcjint,  as  well  as  Afghanistan  to  the 
lliiidu  Khiish,  ;iii(l  liis  successor  added  Kashmir. 
Tliis  succcssoi',  Kanishka  (about  A.  D.'-  120— loO) 
is  interesting  for  his  famous  Buddhist  towei — 13 
stfjreys  high — his  sijleiidid  iimnastery  for  Buddhist 
(•(lucation  still  existing  in  the  ninth  century,  the 
Biiildhist  (•ouiicil  call(Ml  by  him,  at  which  Ashvaghosha 
was   vice-president,    held    m     Knshiiiii'.      'I'he   dynasty 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  XVll 

perished  in  the  third  century,  about  the  same  time  as 
the  Andlira  Kingdom  in  the  Deccan,  so  far  as  India 
was  concerned,  but  Kushan  Kings  wei'e  reigning  in 
Kabul  in  the  fifth  centurj",  when  they  were  conquei^ed 
by  the  Huns. 

Another  E:\ipire 

Another  vast  Empire  rises  out  of  tlie  darkness  of 
seventy  years  Avhich  cover's  northern  India  from 
historical  eyes,  from  the  disappearance  of  the  Kushan 
Kingdom,  about  A,  D.  240,  until  A.D.  308,  when  Chandra- 
gupta,  a  Prince  reigning  in  Pataliputra,  weds  a  Lich- 
chavi  Princess,  Kumari  Devi,  and  the  royal  pair, 
between  them,  come  to  rule  a  Kingdom  comprising 
Bihar,  Oudh,  Tirhut,  and  some  adjacent  lands, 
Chandragupta  I  became  "  Mahriraja  of  Mahrirajas," 
and  started  an  era,  the  Gupta  era,  from  February  26, 
A.  D.  320.  To  him  was  born  a  son,  Samudragupta,  who 
ruled  from  326  to   about  375,  and  built  a  new    Empire. 

He  subdued  all  the  Chiefs  of  the  Gangetic  plain  and 
then  those  of  the  centre,  then  invaded  the  south,  going 
by  the  east  coast  and  returning  by  the  west,  but  invad- 
ing and  gathering  huge  spoils,  not  holding,  the  southern 
States ;  he  incorporated  in  his  Empire  half  Bengal — 
from  the  Hooghly  westwards,  and  all  the  country  right 
across  India  including  Gujerat,  with  the  Nerbudda  foi- 
southern  boundary,  the  Central  and  United  Provinces, 
much  of  Panjab,  with  almost  all  the  rest  of  it 
and  north  Rajputana  as  a  Protectorate,  and  many 
outlying  States  and  the  South  acknowledged  him  as 
Overlord;     he     finallj^  performed    the    horse-sacrihce 


XVlll  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

as  Lord  Paramount  of  India,  probably  about  A.  D. 
340.  He  died  about  375.  His  son  and  successor 
was  Chandragupta  IT,  sometimes  called  Chandragupta- 
Vikramaditya.  He  must  not  be  confused  with  the 
ruler  of  the  same  name,  whose  era,  called  also 
Samvat,  began  56  B.  C,  the  Vikramaditya  at  whose 
Court    was  the  famous  poet-minister,  Bhattumurti. 

He  added  to  the  Empire  Malwa  and  Surashtra, 
abolished  the  Saka  dynasty  in  the  latter,  and  died 
in  A.  D.  413.  Fa-Hien,  the  Chinese  traveller  who 
visited  India  at  the  beginning  of  the  5th  century, 
spent  six  years  in  the  Empire,  during  three  of  which 
he  studied  Samskrit  in  one  of  the  large  Buddhist 
monasteries  at  Pataliputra.  He  speaks  with  intense 
admiration  of  the  wealth,  prosperity,  virtue,  and 
happiness  of  the  people,  and  the  great  liberty  they 
enjoyed.  "Those  who  want  to  go  away  may  go;  those 
who  want  to  stop  may  stop."  Most  offences  were 
punished  by  fines,  and  there  was  no  capital  punish- 
ment, and  no  judicial  torture.  Repeated  rebellion, 
however,  was  punished  by  cutting  oft'  the  right  hand, 
"  but  such  a  penalty  was  exceptional ".  The  roads 
wore  safe,  for  in  all  his  travels  Fa-Hien  was  not  once 
attacked  by  robbers.  "  They  do  not  keep  pigs  or 
fowls,  there  are  no  dealings  in  cattle,  no  butchers' 
shops,  or  distilleries."  "  No  one  kills  any  living  thing, 
or  drinks  wine,  or  eats  onions  or  garlic."  Charitable  in- 
stitutions were  numerous,  rest-houses  were  kept  on  the 
roads.  In  the  capital  was  a  free  hospital,  supported 
by  the  voli;ntar3^  c(jntributions  of  the  rich.  Fa-Hien 
says  : 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  XIX 

Hither  come  all  poor  or  helpless  patients  suffering  from  all 
kinds  of  infirmities.  They  are  well  taken  care  of,  and  a  doctor 
attends  them  ;  food  and  medicine  being  sujaplied  according  to  their 
wants.  Thus  they  are  made  quite  comfortable,  and  when  they  are 
well  they  may  go  away. 

(The  first  hospital  in  Europe  was  the  Maison  Dieu 
in  Paris,  in  the  seventh  century.)  It  is  worthy  of 
notice  that  the  King  was  a  Hindu,  and  Fa-Hien  a 
Buddhist,  so  he  was  the  less  likely  to  praise  overmuch. 

Some  think  that  the  last  recension  of  the  great 
Puranas  and  of  the  legal  Institutes  was  made  at  this 
time.  Sure  it  is  that  Samskrit  was  sedulously  honour- 
ed, while  art  prospered,  and  architecture  became 
ornate  and  splendid. 

Chandragvipta's  son,  Kumaragupta  I,  succeeded  in 
A.D.  413  and  Vincent  Smith  thinks  he  must  have  added 
to  the  Empire,  as  he  celebrated  the  horse-sacrifice ;  he 
died  in  455,  leaving  his  son  and  successor  Skandagupta 
to  bear  the  burden  of  Empire,  and  to  face  the  oncoming 
Huns.  He  defeated  them  at  the  beginning  of  his  reign, 
if  not  as  Yuvaraja  (Crown  Prince),  but  they  returned 
about  470  and  pressed  him  hardly,  and  when  he  died 
ten  years  later,  the  Empire  died  with  him,  though  his 
lialf- brother  succeeded  to  the  throne  and  reigned  in 
Magadha,  its  centre,  the  family  continuing  there  till 
A.D.  720;  while  other  members  of  the  Gupta  family 
ruled  other  portions,  and  a  descendant  of  it  was  the 
grandmother  of  Harsha  of  Thanesar,  in  the  Panjab, 
who  became  famous. 

The  fall  of  the  Empire  was  due  to  the  appearance  of 
the  Huns,  who  invaded  India  and  Europe  in  two 
mighty  streams,  crushing  Persia,  and  over-running  the 


XX  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

civilised  workl.  Their  powei*  was  broken  bj?^  the  Turks, 
in  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century,  after  thej'  had 
devastated  both  Europe  and  Northern  India. 

Harsha,  who  came  to  the  throne  in  a.d.  606  restored 
and  somewhat  enlarged  on  the  east  the  Gupta  Empire, 
but  it  was  less  in  Rajputana.  His  rule  was  much 
approved  by  Hiuen  Tsang,  who  visited  India  630  and 
644,  but  it  (lid  not  I'eacli  the  level  of  the  Gupta  admini- 
stration. After  many  years  of  War,  Harsha  was  more 
oi-  less  attracted  to  Buddhism  by  Hiuen  Tsang,  and  was 
fond  of  religious  debates,  a  fondness  shared  by  his 
widowed  sister,  who  attended  them  with  him  and  was  a 
most  learned  lady.  He  died  in  A.D.  648.  After  his  death, 
Adityasena  of  the  Gupta  dynasty  performed  the  horse- 
sacrifice,  ft>r  no  very  definite  reason  known  to  history ; 
there  is  no  record  of  any  later  performance  thereof. 
Sixty-four  years  after  Harslui's  death,  in  A.D.  710-11, 
the  Ai'iiljs  From  Bassorah — who  had  conquered  Mukurani 
(Ualuchistan)  and  were  settled  there  bj?^  A.D.  644 — under 
Muhuiiimad  \*cn  Knsiiii,  crossed  the  Indus,  overran 
Siiidli,  wliicli  Wits  lifld  by  Musalmans  thereafter,  and 
aiKaiiced  into  Kiijputana.  Young  Bappa,  a  lad  of  15, 
a  Mori  of  Chittoor,  led  an  army  against  them  and 
defeated  them,  but  the  Crescent  of  Islam  had  risen 
over  India's  Ik.imzoii,  a  New  Era  had  begun. 

Before  passing  on  into  the  Muhammadan  invasions, 
it  is  well  to  pause  at  this  point  for  a  moment,  for 
western  historians  luive  failed  to  note  the  general 
prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  Indian  populations, 
.save  where  such  incursions  as  the  nomads  and  Hnns 
temporarily  i-avaged  a  part  of  the  country.     They  have 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  XXI 

glanced  lightly  over  the  wealth,  the  trade,  the  happiness 
of  the  masses  of  the  people,  during  an  acknowledged 
period,  from  Semiramis  to  Muhammad  Ghoi-i,  of  3,000 
years — to  say  nothing  of  the  ''  untold  centuries " 
beyond — and  have  fixed  their  gaze  on  the  local  wars, 
ignoring  the  vast  accumulation  of  wealth,  Avhich  proved 
that  the  industrial  life  and  prosperity  of  the  people  went 
steadily  on,  unaffected  by  temporary  and  local  disturb- 
ances, in  a  huge  stream  of  content  and  progress.  If  this 
be  compared  with  the  state  of  Germany  before  the 
Peasants'  War,  with  the  state  of  France  before  the 
great  Revolution,  western  nations  may  begin  to  realise 
that  eastern  nations  may  have  something  to  say  for 
themselves,  and  that  the  "  blessings"  of  foreign 
occupation  are  not  fully  recognised  in  India. 

A  very  striking  illustration  of  this  was  the  seventy- 
five  days'  festival  of  Harsha,  in  A.D.  644,  held  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Ganga  and  Jumna  at  Prayag  (Allahabad) , 
at  which  Hiuen  Tsang  was  present.  Harsha  had  held 
such  a  festival  every  five  years  for  thirty  yeai's,  "  in 
accordance  with  the  custom  of  his  ancestors,"  to  distri- 
bute among  ascetics,  religious  orders  and  the  poor, 
the  accuDndationH  of  ivealth  of  the  'precediiig  fire  years. 
About  half  a  million  of  people  assembled,  gifts  were 
distributed  on  the  first  three  days  in  the  name  of  the 
Buddha,  the  iSun,  and  Shiva ;  on  the  fourth  day,  to 
10,000  Buddhist  monks,  who  each  received  100  gold 
coins,  a  pearl  and  a  cotton  garment;  then,  for  twenty 
days,  gifts  to  Brahmanas,  for  ten  days  to  "  heretics  "  ;  for 
a  month  to  the  poor,  destitute  and  orphans.  Harsha 
gave  everything,  except  horses,  elephants  and  army 


XXI 1  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOB    FREEDOM 

equipments,  down  to  his  personal  jewels.  And  this 
was  done  every  five  years.  The  great  festival  is  still 
held  every  twelfth  year,  but  there  is  no  King  Harsha, 
and  no  distribution  of  gifts.  Nor,  if  there  were  such 
a  -Monarch,  could  the  country  support  such  quin- 
quennial accumulations.  Only  a  huge  and  well-to-do 
manual  labour  class  could  have  rendered  possible  the 
great  trading,  manufacturing  and  commercial  classes, 
who  existed  at  the  coming  of  the  East  India  Company ; 
history  confirms  these  facts.  The  Emperors,  Kings  and 
Chiefs  were  enormously  wealthy  because  they  ruled  a 
wealthy  people,  and  nurtured  their  prosperity.  When 
Sir  William  Hunter  wrote,  "40,000,000  of  the  people 
never  had  a  full  meal,"  and  a  larger  number  are  in 
that  condition  to-day. 

So  long  as  the  wars  were  internecine,  between 
Hindu  Kingdoms,  the  caste  system  confined  the  fight- 
ing to  the  Kshattriya  (military)  order;  the  universal 
Pafichayats  of  the  village  organisation  carried  on 
smoothly  the  all-important  village  life,  and  Hiuen  Tsang 
notes  that  villagers  quietly  went  on  with  their  agricul- 
tm-al  work  while  a  battle  was  proceeding  close  by ;  it 
was  the  policy  of  the  contend  ing  Chiefs  to  safeguard  the 
peasantry,  on  whose  labour  depended  the  prosperity 
of  the  land  they  lioped  to  rule.  Only  raiders  like  the 
Huns  d(;vastated,  and   their  devastations  were  local. 

How  jnuch  the  ordinary  life  runs  on  with  little 
change  may  be  judged  Ity  comparing  life  in  Malabar 
to-day  with  Marco  Polo's  description  of  what  he 
observed  in  the  same  district,  then  Kerala,  in  A.D. 
1292.   He  said   that  the   people   wear  but  one  cloth. 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  XXUl 

Women  burn  themselves  with  their  dead  husbands. 
Many  worship  the  cow.  They  rub  their  houses  with 
cow-dung  and  sit  on  the  ground.  They  chew  "  tembal  " 
(Persian  for  "betel").  Cail  (Canyal  in  Tinnevelly) 
is  a  great  and  noble  city  where  touch  all  ships  from  the 
west.  Coilum  (Quilon)  produces  ginger,  pepper  and 
fine  indigo.  No  corn  is  grown,  only  rice.  Grozurat 
(Gujarat)  produces  pepper,  ginger,  indigo  and  cotton, 
and  manufactures  beautiful  mats.  Tannah  (near 
Bombay)  exports  leather,  buckram  and  cotton, 
and  imports  gold,  silver,  copper  and  other  articles. 
Fine  buckrams  seem  to  have  been  very  largely  ex- 
ported. Other  travellers  in  the  14th,  15th  and  16th 
centuries  give  similar  testimony.  India's  trade  for 
thousands  of  years  was  enormous,  and  Pliny  the  Elder 
in  his  Natural  History  (about  A.D.  77)  ^  complains  that 
the  annual  drain  of  gold  from  the  Roman  Empire 
to  India,  Arabia,  and  China,  was  never  less  than 
100,000,000  sestercia,  "  giving  back  her  own  wares  in 
exchange,  which  are  sold  at  fully  one  hundred  times 
their  prime  cost".  "  Tiiat  is  what  our  luxuries  and 
women  cost  us,"    says  he  sardonically.  '^ 

Islam  in  India 

A  new  element  now  enters  into  Indian  history,  an 
element  which   is  still  only  in  process  of  assimilation, 

^  Edition  Mayhoff,  Leipzig,  1906,  Bk.  VI,  p.  101.  The  readings 
vary,  some  giving  500  x  100,000=50,000,000,  others  55,000,000,  as 
adopted  in  the  Imperial  Gazetteer. 

^  The  Imperial  Gazetteer  of  the  Indian  Empire  allots  55,000,000 
of  this  100,000,000  to  India,  from  another  reading,  and  reckons  this 
at  £458,000.  This  calculation  again  is  vitiated  by  the  fact  that  the 
value  of  the  sestercium  varied  from  2*1  to  'Z'-l  pence. 


XXIV  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOB    FREEDOM 

which  caused  inevitably  disturbance  and  much  evil 
feeling  on  both  sides,  but  brought  to  the  building  of 
the  Indian  Nation  most  precious  materials,  enriching 
the  Nationality  and  adding  new  aspects  to  its  many- 
faced  splendour.  As  "  Saxon  and  Norman  and 
Dane,"  to  say  nothing  of  other  elements,  are  the 
English,  and  as  f]nglish  and  Scotch  and  Irish 
are  forming  one  Kingdom,  the  Irish,  after  eight 
hundred  years,  yet  unassimilated,  so  in  India, 
Indians,  Persians  (Parsis)  and  Musalinfins  are  not 
yet  wholly  one  Nation,  though  becoming  one 
with  gi-eat  rapidity.  We  must  now,  as  roughly  as 
before,  trace  the  outline  of  this  Midiammadan  entrance 
into  and  iixation  in  India,  up  to  this  time  a  Hindu 
Nation. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Arabs  invaded  and  conquered 
Sindh  early  in  the  eighth  century,  and  were  thrown 
back  from  Rajputana  by  Bappa.  Rajputana  was  a 
congeries  of  States,  each  with  its  own  Chief,  war- 
loving,  chivalrous,  and  quarrelling  constantly  with 
each  other — a  poor  barrier,  therefore,  against  warrioi's 
of  a  faith  resting  on  one  Prophet,  one  book  and  a 
sword  consecrated  to  both.  The  \vhole  storj^  is  one 
of  heroic,  incredible  valour,  rendered  futile  by  cease- 
less dissensions,  whicli  UmI  to  angry  alliances  with  the 
conniion  f(je -against  the  estranged  brother! 

A  Kingdom  ('((inijrising  the  greater  part  of  the 
l':iii.|:il>  :hhI  the  upper  Indus  was  the  first,  after  the 
RajpiiL  i-epulse,  to  face  the  Muslims,  when  Sabuktinin, 
Sultan  of  (Jhazni,  Afghanistan,  invaded  India  in  A.U. 
980,    and     after   some    battles   established   himself   in 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  XXV 

Peshawar.  His  son,  Muhammad,  raided  Indian  terri- 
tory seventeen  times  between  A.D.  1001  and  1024, 
starting  in  October  on  a  three  months'  march  into  the 
interior,  and  returning  when  he  had  satisfied  himself 
with  phmder,  but  holding  Lahore  strongly  from  1021. 
He  died  A.D.  1030.  Five  centuries  followed  of 
incessant  struggle,  hi  the  Empire,  broken  into  pieces, 
each  fragment  had  its  Chief,  fighting  his  neighbour. 
The  rule  of  the  Huns  seemed  to  have  bred  divisions. 
As  the  robber  Barons  fought  in  Europe,  after  the 
breaking  up  of  the  Constantinople  Empire,  so  the 
clans  and  their  Chiefs  fought  in  India.  The  in- 
vaders naturally  took  advantage  of  it,  siding  with 
either  party,  the  weaker  for  prefei'ence,  to  destroy 
that  weaker  when  the  stronger  was  crushed.  Rajput 
Chiefs,  both  in  Rajputana  and  Panjab,  battled  un- 
ceasingly against  each  other,  and  alas,  with  Muslims 
against  Rajputs,  with  varied  fortunes;  Prithviraj 
succeeded  to  the  gadi  of  Delhi  in  A.D.  1164,  rolled 
back  the  Musalmans,  broken,  on  Lahore,  but  fought 
his  last  battle  in  1193,  the  flower  of  Rajput  chivalry 
around  him  but  some  Rajputs  against  him,  fought 
until  the  dead  lay  in  swathes  on  the  field,  13,000  of 
them  "  asleep,  on  the  banks  of  the  Ghuggur  "  ;  and 
he,  the  darling  of  the  bards,  seeking  death,  alas, 
in  vain,  wAs  caught  under  his  fallen  horse,  was 
taken  prisoner,  answered  a  taunt  from  his  capturers 
with  a  bitter  jest,  and  was  stabbed  ;  the  Hindu  throne 
of  Delhi  was  empty.  The  Pathan  seated  himself 
thereon,  ruled,  and  set  up  other  kingdoms  in  India,  and 
fought,  conquered  and  was  conquered  ;  and   so  fierce 


XXVI  HOW   INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

battles  I'aged  up  and  down  tlte  northern  lands,  with 
inroads  from  Afghanistan,  and  rival  Muhammadan 
Chiefs  and  changes,  Pathans,  Tartars,  Mughals,  until 
Babar  and  his  Turks  and  Mughals  came  in  1519,  and 
1520,  and  1524,  and  finally  fought  the  battle  of 
Panipat  against  Sultan  Ibrahim  Lodi,  the  Pathan,  in 
1526,  and  was  proclaimed  Emperor  of  India  at  Delhi, 
the  first  of  the  "  great  Moguls  ". 

But  we  must  turn  aside  for  a  moment,  and  run 
backwards  to  take  a  bird's  eye-view  of  the  south, 
where  later,  Musalman  and  Hindu  fought  for  rule,  until 
the  Maratha  Power  rose  to  dominance.  The  Andhra 
Kingdom  had  disappeared,  we  know,  about  A.D.  230,  and 
the  great  table-land  of  the  Deccan,  south  of  the  Ner- 
budda,  becomes  again  the  scene  of  pregnant  history, 
when  the  Chief  of  the  Chalukyas,  or  Solankis,  a  Rajput 
Agnikula  clan,  conquered  the  Deccan  and  built  a  King- 
dom about  A.]).  550,  and  reigned  in  Vatapi,  in  the  Bijapur 
District,  gloriously  and  well.  In  a  century  the  dj^iasty 
had  grown  strong  and  famous,  and  exchanged  embassies 
with  Khusru  II  of  Persia — as  shoAvn  in  a  fresco  in  an 
Ajanta  cave.  Many  fights  with  Pallavas  and  others 
need  not  detain  us ;  enough  that  the  Chalukya  kingdom 
in  the  Deccan  and  Maharashtra  continued  to  A.D.  1190; 
just  before  the  i 'a than,  Muhanniiad  (jhui-i,  seated 
iiiniseU'  on  Delhi  throne.  A  hundred  years  later,  in 
1294,  tiie  Sultan  Ahi-iid-din,  aftei-  the  sack  of  Chittoor, 
invaded  the  Deccan,  and  crushed  tlieGadavas  who  had 
succeeded  the  Clialukyas,  and  took  as  ransom  six  maunds 
of  pearls,  two  maunds  of  diamonds  and  other  gems. 
(A  niaund=82    lb.   avoirdupois.)     In   ^809   came   the 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  XXVll 

invasion  of  his  lieutenant  Malik  Kafur,  who  overran 
tlie  south,  right  down  to  Ranieshvara,  where  he  built  a 
Mosque,  and  then  returned  whence  he  came ;  and  in 
1336,  south  of  the  Krishna  and  west  of  the  Tunga- 
bhadra  river,  dividing  it  from  the  Chola  Kingdom,  rose 
the  great  Hindu  Kingdom  of  Vijayanagar,  that  held 
its  own  for  two  centuries  of  pride,  despite  the  growing 
power  of  the  Muslims. 

Babar,  we  resume,  of  Turki  race,  descendant  of  Tamer- 
lane, sat  enthroned  in  Delhi,  the  founder  of  the  splendid 
Mughal  dynasty.  Two  years  after  Panipat,  a  great 
battle  was  fought  at  Fatehpur  Sikri  between  the  new 
Emperor  and  the  Rajputs,  and  he  conquered,  only  to 
die  four  years  later,  in  1530.  Then  Humayun,  his  son, 
became  Emperor,  but  was  driven  out  by  a  Pathan 
Chief,  and  lied  to  Kandahar  in  1543,  coming  back  in 
1555 ;  for  his  twelve-year  old  son,  Akbar,  conquered 
the  Pathan,  and  re-opened  to  his  father  the  gates  of 
Delhi.  Akbar  succeeded  to  the  throne  in  1556,  to  be 
India's  greatest  Muhammadan  Emperor  ;  perhaps  the 
only  serious  stain  upon  his  name — and  he  was  then  only 
fourteen  years  old — is  the  sack  of  Chittoor  in  1557. 
So  great  was  he,  so  tolerant,  that  he  welded  together 
Hindu  and  Musalman ;  Hindu  Princesses  were  the 
mothers  of  the  Emperors  Jehangir  (Salim)  and  Shah 
Jahan;  Rajputs  were  generals  in  his  army,  and  minis- 
ters in  his  State ;  the  Rajput  Man  Sinha  was  his  greatest 
general,  Raja  Toda  Mall  his  greatest  minister.  Akbar's 
dream  was  a  United  India,  and  he  renewed  the  Empire 
of  Chandragupta  Maurya,  though  some  Rajput  States 
defied  him  to   the  end.     He  "  laid  down  the  principle 


XXVIII  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOK    FREEDOM 

that  men  of  all  faiths  were  to  be  treated  alike  by  the 
law ;  he  had  opened  all  posts  of  authority  to  men  of 
ability,  without  restriction  of  creed  ;  he  had  abolished 
the  slavery  of  captives,  the  capitation  tax  on  non- 
Musalnicins,  and  the  tax  on  Hindu  pilgrims.  He  forbade 
the  forcing  of  a  widow  to  burn  herself  on  her  husband's 
funeral  pyre,  sanctioned  widow  re-marriage,  forbade 
child-marriage,  and  the  killing  of  animals  for  sacrifice." 
He  also  laid  down  a  land-s^^stem  which  caused  great 
content.  Three  classes  of  land  were  made,  according  to 
fertility.  The  value  of  the  produce  was  decided  by 
an  average  of  nineteen  years.  The  Orovernment  took 
one-third,  for  land  revenue  and  support  of  militia, 
amounting  to  22  millions  sterling  a  year,  the  land-tax 
bringing  in  from  16|  to  17|  millions ;  all  other  taxes  were 
abolished.  A  settlement  was  made  every  ten  years. 
The  Emi:>eror  Jehangir,  succeeding  to  the  throne  in 
1605,  did  naught  to  strengthen  his  father's  work,  but 
he  did  one  thing  pregnant  with  ruin  for  his  house.  In 
1618,  lie  gave  permission  to  the  English  to  trade  in  his 
dominions,  and  factories  were  established  in  Surat, 
Cambay,  (lOgo  and  Ahmedabad.  Two  years  later 
Sir  Thomas  Roe  came  to  him  as  ambassador  from 
James  I.  His  land-tax  amounted  to  17^  millions. 
Shah  Jahan,  1627-1658,  under  whom,  by  new  con- 
quests, the  land-tax  came  to  22  millions,  continued 
his  grandfather's  policj'^;  and  had  others  followed  in 
the  steps  of  these  twain,  there  had  been  no  Hindu- 
Musalmjin  question  in  modern  India.  But  Aurungzeb, 
the  destroyer,  succeeded,  and  his  persecutions  and 
his  cruelties  drove  his  subjects  into  rebellion,  "  At  last 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  Xxix 

rev^olts  l)roke  out  on  every  side,  his  sons  rebelled, 
debts  accumulated,  disorders  of  every  kind  arose,  and 
in  1706  lie  died,  alone  and  miserable,  amid  the  ruins 
of  the  Empire  he  had  shattered.  With  his  accession 
the  hope  of  a  United  India  vanished,  and  at  his  death 
the  work  of  Akbar  was  destroyed."  Materially  his 
wealth  was  immense ;  his  conquests  added  again  to  the 
land  revenue,  and  raised  it  to  38  millions  sterling.  A 
hundred  years  later  it  was  still  £34,506,640, 

In  the  year  of  Shah  Jahan's  accession  to  the 
Imperial  throne  was  born  a  child  destined  to  lead  in 
the  shaking  of  the  Mughal  Power ;  it  was  Shivaji, 
''  crowned  in  Raigad  in  1674,  as  the  Hindu  Emperor, 
and  the  Maratha  Kingdom  of  the  South  faced  the 
Mughal  Kingdom  of  the  North  ".^ 

The  State  of  the  People 

During  these  centuries  of  war,  raids  and  forays, 
what  was  the  condition  of  the  people  of  northern 
India  ?  The  answer  comes  from  the  travellers  who 
observed  it,  from  the  merchants  who  struggled  and 
intrigued  for  the  right  to  exploit  it.  They  were  bitterly 
prejudiced  and  speak  of  "heathen"  and  "  heathen 
customs,"  but  they  drove  good  bargains  and  bought, 
bought  largely,  to  sell  again  at  huge  profits,  and  die 
in  Europe,  wealthy  from  their  trading. 

Bernier,  in  his  letter  to  Colbert,  .  complains,  even 
more  vigorously  than  Pliny,  seventeen  centuries  before, 
that   "  this    Hindustan   is  an  abyss  into  Avhich  a  great 

^  The  extracts  are  from  Children  vf  the  Motherland,  pp.  143,  145, 
165. 


XXX  HOW  INDIA  Wrought  for  freedom 

part  of  the  gold  and  silver  of  the  world  finds  plenty 
of  ways  of  going  in  from  all  sides,  and  hardly  one 
way  out ".  After  a  vivid  description  of  the  military 
strength  of  the  great  Mughal,  he  speaks  of  his 
immense  treasures,  gold  and  silver  and  jewellery, 
"  a  prodigious  quantity  of  pearls  and  precious  stones 
of  all  sorts  .  .  .  one  throne  is  all  covered  with  them  ". 
Woman  wear  rings  and  anklets,  chains,  ear-rings  and 
nose-rings  ;  most  of  all  he  marvels  over  the  incredible 
quantity  of  manufactured  goods,  "  embroideries,  streak- 
ed silks,  tufts  of  gold  for  turbans,  silver  and  gold  cloth, 
brocades,  network  of  gold  " — he  is  evidently  dazed. 
He  can  hardly  find  words  to  describe  the  l^hnperor,  with 
his  golden  turban,  and  his  spray  of  diamonds,  and  a 
matchless  topaz  that  shone  like  a  little  sun,  and  his 
huge  collar  of  rows  of  pearls  down  to  his  waist,  and  so 
on  and  on  for  pages.  Tavernier  describes  him  on 
similar  lines,  with  his  seven  thrones,  and  the  marvel- 
lous peacock  throne,  with  the  natural  colours  of  the 
peacock's  tail  worked  out  in  jewels,  valued  by  him  at 
6^  millions  sterling;  he  gives  veiy  full  descriptions  of 
the  manufactured  goods.  Kasembasar,  "  a  village  in 
the  kingdom  of  Bengal,"  exported  yearly  22,000  bales 
of  silk,  weighing  "2,200,000  pounds,  at  16  oz.  to  the 
pound  ".  Carpets  of  silk  tind  gold,  satins  with  streaks 
of  gold  and  silver,  endless  lists  of  exquisite  works,  of 
minute  carvings,  and  other  choice  objets  d'art.  1^he 
facts  speak  for  themselves.  It  was  this  enormous 
wealth  that  di-ew  Europeans  to  come  hither  to  "shake 
the  |)}igii(la  tree  "  ;  the  stories  carried  back  by  success- 
ful shakers,  drew  othens  to  the  golden  land.     This  was 


HISTOEICAL    INTEODUCTION  XXXI 

the  country  of  which  Phillimore  wrote  in  the  middle 
of  the  18th  century,  that  "  the  droppings  of  her  soil 
fed  distant  Nations ".  To  share  in  this  incredible 
wealth,  the  first  English  factories  were  established  on 
the  western  coast. 

The  pi'oof  of  India's  prosperity  under  Indian  rule, 
Musalman  as  well  as  Hindu,  lies  in  India's  wealth. 
The  wars  scratched  the  country  here  and  there,  now 
and  then ;  the  peasants,  artisans,  traders,  wrought  in- 
dustriously everywhere,  alwaj^s.  The  invading  raiders 
laid  all  waste,  and  travellers  come  across  such 
scenes  and  describe  them,  as  though  they  pictured 
the  normal  state  of  the  country.  T^hey  carried 
away  enormous  wealth,  but  the  pi'oducers  remained 
and  piled  it  up  again.  But  when  the  Musalmans 
settled  down  as  rulers,  their  own  prosperity  depended 
on  that  of  the  people  and  they  took  with  discrimina- 
tion. Firoze  of  the  Toghlak  dynasty  (a.D.  1351—1388), 
like  Hindu  Rulers  before  him,  constructed  great 
irrigation  works,  canals,  etc.  It  was  this  care  for 
irrigation,  characteinstic  of  Indian  Rulers,  which 
gave  such  marvellous  fertility  to  the  soil  through  the 
centuries-  Ever  the  immense  foreign  trade  went  on, 
enriching  the  land,  and  they  exported  luxuries  and 
surplus,  never  the  food  wanted  to  feed  the  people ; 
that  remained  from  the  fat  years  against  the  lean. 
A  disadvantage  of  the  swift  communication  between 
Britain  and  India  now  is  that  the  rulers  no  longer 
come  to  stay ;  but,  under  the  decencies  of  inodern 
ways,  gather  wealth  like  the  old  raiders,  and  like 
them  carry  it  abroad  for  enjoyment. 


XXXll  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    PREEDOM 

The  Maratha  Confederacy 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Justice  Ranade,  in  his  small  volume 
on  the  Rise  of  the  Maratha  Power,  has  done  more  than 
any  other  writer  to  point  out  the  significance  of  the 
Maratha  story  in  the  long  history  of  India,  and  to 
make  the  reader  feel  its  inspiration  and  its  teaching. 

AVhile  Delhi  was  the  seat  of  Mughal  Power,  the 
MusalnuTns  in  the  Deccan  had  made  themselves  inde- 
pendent of  it  in  A.D.  1347,  and  had  chosen  xA^la-ud-din 
Hasan  as  King,  who  founded  the  Bahamani  kingdom, 
which  broke  up  from  1484  to  1572  into  the  five  king- 
doms of  Berar,  Ahmednagar,  Bijapur,  Bidar  and 
Golconda,  whose  quarrels  with  the  Delhi  Empire 
facilitated  the  breaking  up  of  the  Musalma.n  domina- 
tion. The  rise  of  the  ^faratha  Power  Avas  preceded  by 
a  great  Hindu  Pevival,  Tukaram,  Veman  Pandit, 
Eknath  and  Ramdas,  the  Guru  of  Shivaji,  were  its 
inspiration.  Shivaji  himself  was  a  M5^stic,  materialised 
into  a  man  of  action.  His  aim  was  the  building  of  a 
Nation  ;  his  means  patriotism  and  union.  His  spirit, 
his  aim,  his  means,  are  the  spirit,  the  aim,  the  means 
of  the  National  party  in  India  to-day ;  a  Hindu  Revival 
pi-eceded  the  modern  National  movement ;  its  one  aim 
is  India,  a  Nation ;  its  fervent  patriotism  and  its 
sti'iviiig  after  union  are  its  means  to  success. 
Where  it  differs  from  its  forerunner  is  that  instead 
of  fighting  against  the  ^^usalmans  it  welcomes  them 
as  a  part  of  the  Nation,  instead  of  using  the  sword,  it 
uses  as    weapons,  education,  the  platform  and  the  pen. 

Sliivaji's  careful  organisation  of  the  (xovernment 
recalls    the    work    of    Ciiandragupta-Maurya.       First 


HISTORICAL   INTRODUCTION  XXXlll 

came  the  Peshwa,  or  Prime  Minister;  then  the 
Minister  of  War  (Senapati — Army  Lord) ;  the  Min- 
ister of  Finance  (Amatya)  ;  the  Accountant-Gen eral 
(Pant  Sachiv)  ;  the  Private  Secretary  (Mantri)  ; 
the  Foreign  Secretary  (Sumant)  ;  the  Minister  of 
Religion  (Panditrao)  ;  the  Chief  Justice.  But  it  was 
Shivaji  himself  who  created  the  new  Maharash- 
tra, and  made  the  men,  who,  after  his  death, 
broke  the  Mughal  power.  The  building  up  of  his 
great  Kingdom  from  Surat  in  the  north  to  Hubli  in 
the  South,  from  the  sea  on  the  west  to  Berar,  Golconda 
and  Bijapur  on  the  east,  his  coronation  at  Raipur  in 
1674  as  Padshaha,  his  recognition  by  the  rulers  of 
Crolconda  and  Bijapur  as  Suzerain  by  the  paying  of 
tribute,  his  death  in  1680 — all  this  may  be  read  at 
leisure.  He  died,  but  he  had  "  created  a  Nation," 
and  when  Aurungzeb  came  in  1682  to  crush  the 
Marathas  and  the  Musalman  Kingdoms,  although 
he  with  his  huge  army  carried  everything  before  him, 
Shivaji's  younger  son,  Rajaram,  rallied  the  Maratha 
leaders  round  him,  and  began  the  great  twenty-years' 
AVar  of  Independence ;  at  his  death  his  nephew 
Shaku  succeeded  him  and  the  War  went  on,  till  in 
1705  a  treaty  was  made,  though  not  kept ;  Aurungzeb 
died  two  years  later,  broken-hearted,  after  a  war  of 
25  years,  which  ended  in  failure.  Shaku  was  crowned, 
regaining  his  grandfather's  realm.  Thus  Svaraj, 
"  own-rule, "  was  gained,  and,  after  a  period  of 
quarrelling  and  unrest,  Balaji  Vishvanath  became  the 
Peshwii  of  the  Maratha  Kingdom,  and  is  called  in 
Hunter's   history   and    even    in   Ranade's,     the   First 


XXXIV  HOW    IXDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Peshwa.  He  it  was  wlio  bound  together  the  great 
Maratha  Chiefs,  built  uj)  the  Confederacy  that  last- 
ed for  a  hundred  years,  that  broke  the  Mughal 
Empire,  and  practically  ruled  India.  Balaji  march- 
ed to  Delhi  in  1718,  and  in  the  next  year  com- 
pelled the  Emperor  to  recognise  the  right  of  Shaku  to 
a  quarter  and  a  tenth  of  the  land  revenue  of  the 
Deccan  (the  chouth  and  sardeshmukti),  and  when  he 
was  succeeded  in  1720  by  his  son,  Baji  Rao,  he  left  the 
Confederacy  so  strong  that  it  was  able  to  extend  its 
power  gradually  under  the  second  and  third  Peshwas 
from  (xujerat  and  Kathiawar  to  Bengal  and  Orissa, 
from  Delhi  to  Maharashtra. 

The  Peshwfi  at  Poona  represented  the  centre  of  the 
great  Confederacy ;  the  Bhonsla  General  was  at 
Nagpur  ;  Holkar  was  at  Indore;  Scindia  at  (xwalior  ; 
the  Gaekwar  at  Baroda.  These  five  represented  the 
five  Maratha  Branches,  each  with  its  Chief.  The  great 
defeat  of  the  ^larathas  at  Panipat,  fighting  against  the 
Afghans,  threw  them  back  from  the  extreme  north, 
but  they  regained  their  power  there,  and  held  the 
Delhi  Emperor  as  their  puppet  in  1803.  In  fact  the 
Marathas  ruled  India,  save  where  a  new  Power  was 
making  its  way,  a  Power  against  which  they  broke,  as 
the  power  of  the  Musalmans  had  bi-oken  against  them. 
It  was  tliat  of  (irctit  ib-itain. 

TiiK  BiJiTJsii   IN   India 

Long  and  strange  was  the  struggle  loi-  European 
Empire  in  India  fnjin  the  days  when  the^  Mughal 
Empire  was  in  the  heights  of  its  splendour,  through  the 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  XXXV 

Maratha  Empire,  until  the  final  triumph  of  the  British. 
Portuguese,  Dutch,  French,  British— such  the  succes- 
sion of  tlie  foreign  ventures,  with  a  gleam  of  Denmark 
in  1620;  of  the  German  Empire  headed  by  Austria,  the 
"  Ostend  Company"  in  1722;  of  Prussia,  the  Emden 
Company  in  1744 — ghosts  flitting  across  the  Indian  stage. 
They  were  all  seeking  for  trade.  It  was  a  traders'  war 
when  thej'  fought ;  the  soldiers  were  mostly  adventur- 
ers ;  European  Governments  looked  on  complacently 
and  helped  with  a  few  soldiers  now  and  then.  But  the 
flag  followed  ti-ade,  not  trade  the  flag.  And  the  fight- 
ing was  traders'  fighting  rather  than  that  of  soldiers, 
not  careful  of  honour,  nor  treaty,  but  only  of  gain. 
Bold  unscrupulous  adventurers,  they  were  for  the  most 
part,  the  "  bad  boys  "  of  the  family,  like  Clive.  Punch 
wrote  a  fearful  epitaph  on  "  John  Company  "  and  his 
crimes,  after  the  Sepoy  War,  and  when  the  Crown 
took  over  the  Empire  the  Company  had  made,  it 
marked  the  New  Era  with  the  noble  proclamation  of 
Queen  Victoria,  the  Magna  Carta  of  India.  But  the 
making  of  that  Empire  by  the  adventurers  is  a  wonder- 
ful story  of  courage,  craft,  unscrupulousness — were 
they  not  dealing  with  "  heathen  "  ? — ability  rising  to 
genius,  as  in  Clive,  and  great  administrators  after  great 
soldiers.  At  the  beginning  conquest  was  not  thought 
of,  no  one  rnade  any  pretence  that  he  was  here  for 
"the  good  of  India".  Quite  frankly,  it  was  the 
immense  wealth  of  India  that  lured  them,  wealth  to  be 
carried  "home"  for  enjoyment;  the  "white  man's 
burden  "  was  golden.  The  breaking  up  of  the  Mughal 
Empire    and   the    quari-els   of    Viceroys    who   became 


XXXVl  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Kings,  of  Generals  who  became  Chiefs,  these  gave  the 
opportunity.  Britain  succeeded,  because  she  was  the 
Power  that  held  in  her  the  most  fertile  seed  of  free 
institutions,  because  she  was  on  the  eve  of  establishing 
dcinocratic  Government  on  her  own  soil  on  the  sarest 
basis,  so  that  while  she  might  enthrall  for  a  time, 
ultimate  freedom  under  her  rule  was  inevitable. 
France  had  behind  her  then  only  the  traditions  of 
tyranny ;  the  Bourbons  ruled  and  rioted.  India  needed 
for  her  future  a  steady  pressure,  that  would  weld  her 
into  one  Nation  on  a  modern  basis,  that  she  might 
become  a  Free  Nation  among  the  Free.  The  High 
Powers  that  guide  the  destinies  of  Nations  saw  Britain 
as  fittest  for  this  intermediate  and  disciplinary  stage. 

Early  in  the  sixteenth  century  the  Portuguese 
formed  trading  settlements  on  the  western  coast  in 
Calicut  and  Goa.  Farly  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
the  Dutch  traded  on  the  eastern  coasts,  established 
very  many  factories,  but  finally  settled  down,  after 
many  vicissitudes,  struggles  and  battles,  in  Java,  etc., 
"  the  Dutch  Indies  ".  France  began  to  nibble  in  1537, 
and  established  her  lirst  factories  in  Surat  and  Gol- 
conda  in  1668,  and  in  1672  bought  the  site  of  Pondi- 
cherry  ;  she  made  a  great  bid  for  an  Indian  Empire  in 
the  eighteeiiili  (•cntui-y  througli  the  genius  of  Dupleix 
chieily,  and    failed.  * 

Denmark  was  stirred  to  rivalry  in  1612,  and  made 
ail  l^ast  India  ("i»inpany,  but  never  was  strong  enough 
for  the  l']mpire  ganu'.  Slu;  began  by  a  shipwreck  (Ui 
the  Tanjore  coast  in  1620,  'the  survivors  from  the 
shipwreck,   except  the   Captain,  Roelant  Crape,  being 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  XXX Vll 

murdered.  The  Raja  of  Tanjore  gave  him  permission 
to  settle  at  Tranquebar.  The  settlement  was  never 
impoi'tant,  but  it  started  the  Protestant  missionaries 
in  India  in  1706,  and  Sohwarz  (1750-1798)  founded 
the  missions  in  Trichinopoly,  Tanjore,  and  Tinnevelly, 
still  the  strongest  missionary  centres  in  India.  England 
bought  the  settlement  finally  in  1845,  with  Balasore, 
and  with  another  missionary  settlement  in  Serampnr, 
Bengal.  In  1847,  the  Tranquebar  mission  was  handed 
over  to  the  Lutherans.  From  the  18th  century 
onwards  all  the  missionary  Nations — Grerman, 
American,  French,  Italian,  Swiss — have  freely  estab- 
lished their  missions  in  India,  im'perla  in  imperio,  a 
dangerous  policy,  a  menace  to  British  rule,  and  a 
running  annoyance  and  irritation  to  Indians. 

Britain  began  humbly.  On  December  31,  1600, 
Elisabeth  chartered  "  The  Governor  aiid  Company 
of  Merchants  of  London  trading  in  the  East  Indies  " 
for  exclusive  trading  there — at  that  time  no  trading- 
having  been  done — and  they  fitted  out  some  ships, 
one,  under  Captain  Hawkins,  reaching  Surat,  on  the 
West  Coast,  in  1606.  In  1611,  a  Captain  Hippon,  on 
his  own  account,  set  up  a  little  trading  establishment 
on  the  East  Coast  at  Pettapoli,  and  another  at 
Masulipatam.  In  1613,  the  Emperor  Shah  Jahan  gave 
duly  written  permission  for  setting  up  factories  at 
Surat  and  Cambay,  (logo  and  Ahmedabad,  and  in  1616 
the  Zamorin  of  Calicut  allowed  a  factory  to  be  set  up 
in  his  capital  city.  Thus  was  a  footing  made  on 
the  West  Coast,  and  Surat  became  a  Presidency 
Town  in  the   time    of   Cromwell   (1653),  and  moved  its 

D 


XXXVm  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Goveniiueiit  in  1061  to  the  island  of  Bombay,  given  by 
Portugal  as  a  kind  of  wedding  gift,  when  Charles  II 
married  Catherine  of  Braganza. 

Meanwhile  the  East  Coast  was  factorised,  and  in 
1626,  a  factory  was  established  at  Argeman,  70  miles 
north  of  Madras,  with  a  fort  to  protect  it.  Factory, 
fort,  town,  "  necessary  "  extensions— so  it  went  thence- 
foi'th,  all  natural  and  inevitable.  In  1634,  Shah  Jahan 
allowed  another  trading  centre,  at  Pipli,  in  Bengal, 
and  in  the  next  year,  Charles  I  issued  another  charter. 
But  Argeman  was  not  convenient,  and  the  kind  Raja 
(li  Chandragiri,  descendant  of  the  royal  house  of 
\  ijayanagar,  in  1639,  gives  Mr.  Day  permission  to 
have  a  factory  at  Chennaputnam,  with  land  one  mile 
Inroad  and  six  miles  along  the  shore,  and  he  generouslj' 
builds  them  a  fort  to  protect  it,  Fort  S.  George.  And 
Day  builds  a  wall  round  the  fort,  on  the  island  made 
by  the  two  branches  of  the  Coum  River,  400  yards 
long  and  100  wide,  and  allows  only  white  people  to 
live  inside  his  wall,  any  Nation,  if  only  white — White 
'l\)\vii  ;  and  outside  it  an  Indian  town  grows  up — 
iJlack  Town.  And  these  twain  are  Madraspatam — 
.\Jadi-as.  In  loOl,  it  had  a  garrison  of  26  men.  Its 
official  records  begin  from  1670.  Cromwell  lets  the 
two  companies  of  Fjlisabeth  and  Charles  1  amalgamate, 
and  makes  Fort  8.  George  a  Presidency,  iii  IQo'S,  with 
authority  over  the  Bengal  factories. 

In  16!K),  Job  Charnock  sets  up  a  factory  in  Calcutta, 
tlKMigli  ti-ading  privileges  were  not  granted  to  the 
I'lngh'sli  in  Bengal  until  l)etween  1713  and  1719  bj'^  the 
Mii^liiil    I'iiiipciiii-    Pirokslici-c,  and  hnilds  a  fort ;  so  we 


HISTOHICAL    INTHODIIC'TION  XXXIX 

have  three  big  foi'ts  ere  tlie  end  of  tlie  first  quarter  of 
the  18th  century — Bombay,  Madras,  (Calcutta,  a  Fort 
S.  David  also,  a  mile  from  Cuddalore ;  in  1686,  Sir 
John  Child,  at  Bombay,  makes  the  ominous  announce- 
ment, that  thenceforth  if  the  ''  natives  " — the  owners 
of  the  country — attack,  he  Avill  retaliate.  Until  then, 
they  had  been  yielding  and  submissive,  as  became 
foreign  traders.  In  1702,  various  Companies  having 
arisen  in  England,  who  all  quarrelled  bitterly,  it  was 
thought  well  to  amalgamate  them,  and  so  present  a 
solid  front;  and  amalgamated  they  were,  as  the  United 
East  India  Company,  in  1702.  The  position  was  a 
most  peculiar  one.  Here  was  a  Company,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  independent ;  it  was  ruled 
by  a  Board  of  Directors  in  London ;  it  chose  its 
own  agents,  it  made  its  own  armies  ;  after  a  time  it 
appointed  a  (lovernor,  then  a  Governor-General ; 
it  applied  for  Charters,  for  Courts  of  Justice,  and  got 
them — with  subsequent  horrors  related  by  Macaulay. 
There  was  no  effective  control  over  its  proceedings, 
although  Parliament  interfered  for  the  first  time  in 
1773,  and  a  Board  of  Control  was  established  in  1784, 
and  the  Court  of  Directors  placed  under  it — a  clumsy 
dual  arrangement,  making  no  real  difference.  The 
one  useful  thing  was  the  renewal  of  the  Charter, 
preceded  by  an  enquiry,  which  at  least  revealed  the 
state  of  things — and  terrible  are  the  records.  When 
things  became  too  outrageous.  Parliament  interfer- 
ed, as  in  the  impeachment  of  Wai'ren  Hastings  ;  but, 
for  the  most  part,  Britain  was  far  too  busy  with  her  own 
troubles,    her    loss    of    her    American   Colonies,   her 


xl  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Napoleonic  Wars,  the  struggles  of  her  rising  Demo- 
cracy, the  miserable  condition  of  her  people,  her 
Chartists,  her  agricultural  riots,  and  the  rest,  to 
trouble  much  about  what  a  trading  Company  was 
doing  in  far-away  heathen  India  ;  the  Company  made 
treaties  and  broke  them,  or  forged  them,  if  more  con- 
venient; it  cheated,  robbed,  murdered,  oppressed,  and 
— built  au  Empire  in  about  a  century.  Clive  was  the 
first  Governor  under  the  East  India  Company  in  1758 ; 
Earl  Canning  the  last  in  1856.  The  Company  ended 
in  the  Sepoy  War  of  1857,  and  the  Crown  assumed 
the  sovereignty  in  1858. 

The  policy  of  the  Company  was  shrewd  and  effect- 
ive. The  Indian  rulers  borrowed  European  offi- 
cers to  dj'ill  their  soldiers,  borrowed  European 
soldiers  too.  Presently,  if  French  officers  and 
men  were  with  one  Chief,  English  officers  and 
men  were  with  the  rival.  Uupleix  had  allied  him- 
.self  with  one  claimant  to  the  throne  of  the  dead 
Nizam  of  the  Deccan ;  the  English  tlierefore  were 
with  the  Nawab  of  the  Carnatic,  who  had  an  eye  to  a 
possible  chance.  Princes,  Kiiglish  and  French  all 
tried  to  use  each  other — the  Princes  to  play  off  English 
against  French,  the  English  and  French  severally  to 
use  opposing  Princes  against  each  other.  It  is  a 
sorry  story  (jf  intrigue,  of  utter  disregard  of  honour 
and  good  faith  on  all  sides.  Dupleix,  that  French 
genius,  master  of  the  military  art  and  of  unscrupulous 
statecraft,  wjis  can-ying  nil  before  him  and  carving 
out  a  French  10mi)ire  in  Southern  India,  when  Robert 
Clive,  a  writer  in  the  service  of  the  Company,  who  was 


HISTORICAL   INTEODUCTION  xli 

also  a  captain  for  the  nonce,  offered  a  bold  plan  of 
attack,  and  was  bidden  carry  it  out;  marched  rapidly 
to  Arcot  (1751)  with  200  English  and  300  sepoys, 
seized  it,  held  it  against  all  comers,  struck  here, 
struck  there,  won  everywhere,  and  laid  the  first  stone 
of  the  British  Empire  in  India.  The  French  hopes  in 
the  South  w^ere  finally  destroyed  by  the  victory  of 
Colonel  Coote  at  Wandiwash  in  1760. 

After  a  visit  to  England,  the  Directors  made  Clive 
Governor  of  Fort  S.  David,  and  he  returned  to 
India  in  1755  for  five  marvellous  years  of  glory  and 
shame.  Trouble  in  Bengal,  where  Siraj-ud-daula 
was  Viceroy  for  Delhi,  and  had  attacked  and  captured 
Fort  William  ;  he  thrust  his  146  captives,  for  the  night 
into  the  Fort  military  gaol,  the  "  Black  Hole,"  a  room 
18  feet  square  with  two  small  windows,  and,  says  the 
Imperial  Gazetteer,  "  although  the  Nawab  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  aware  of  the  consequences,  it  meant 
death  to  a  huddled  mass  of  English  prisoners  in  the 
stifling  heat  of  June"  (ii,  474).  Only  23  survived 
that  night  of  agony.  Clive  started  for  Calcutta, 
managed,  despite  the  Black  Hole,  to  persuade  the 
Nawab  that  he  was  a  friend — "  I  will . . .  stand  by  him 
as  long  as  I  have  a  man  left,"  wrote  he — seduced  by 
bribery  some  of  the  Nawab's  officers,  forged  a  treaty, 
and  Admiral  Watson's  signature  thereto,  to  deceive 
Omichand,  himself  a  traitor,  defeated  his  dear  friend 
the  Nawab  at  Plassey  (June  23,  1757),  and  sold 
his  throne — our  Bengal,  Bihar  and  Orissa — to  Mir 
Jafar  for  a  sum  that  amounted  to  £2,340,000  sterling, 
of  which  Clive  received  £200,000.      Omichand,  when 


xlii  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

he  touiid  the  treaty  was  forged,  swooned,  and  never 
recovered  the  shock;  Clive  advised  him  to  go  on  a 
pilgrimage,  but  the  wretched  man  sank  into  idiocy, 
"languished  a  few  months  and  then  died".  Macaulay, 
though  he  makes  excuses  for  his  hero  of  meeting 
craft  with  craft,  says  of  his  general  policy,  that  "he 
descended,  without  scruple,  to  falsehood,  to  hypo- 
critical caresses,  to  the  substitution  of  documents  and 
to  the  counterfeiting  of  hands"  (Essays,  ii.  101,  102. 
Ed.  1864).  J3y  these  means,  joined  to  marvellous 
courage  and  military  genius,  he  founded  the  British 
Empii-e  in  India,  which  historians  date  from  Plassey. 
Clive  obtained  in  addition  from  Mir  Jafar  a  tract 
of  882  square  miles — the  24  Perganas— to  go  to  the 
Company  after  his  death,  he  having  meanwhile  the 
rental;  this  rental  was  paid  to  him  by  the  Company 
from  176.") — when  they  took  over  the  land — till  he 
died  in  1774;  the  quit-rent  was  about  £80,000  sterling 
a  year.  At  the  age  of  34,  starting  with  nothing,  he 
had  accumulated,  between  lloo  and  1760,  admittedly, 
£220,000  remitted  to  business  houses  in  l^jugland  ;  £25,000 
ill  diamonds;  "considerable"  sums  and  a  "great  mass 
of  ready  money,"  as  well  as  the  huge  estate,  which  he 
valued  at  £27,000  ;i  ye;u'.  All  this  was  challenged  in 
the  House  of  Conunons,  in  1773,  after  his  last  i-etuni 
to  Kn^-liind  (1767),  und  ;i  vote  of  censure  was  shelved 
l»y  the  previous  (pu'stion,  and  the  words  that  "he 
•lid,  ;it  the  siinic  time,  render  great  and  meritorious 
servici's  to  his  country".  lie  conmiitted  suicide 
in  177 1.  .Macaulay  says  (A'  the  enquiry:  "It 
was     clear     that      ('live     hail     been      guilty    of    some 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  xliii 

acts  which  it  was  impossible  to  vindicate  without 
attacking  the  authority  of  all  the  most  sacred  laws 
which  regulate  the  intercourse  of  iudividuals  and  of 
States.  But  it  was  equally  clear  that  he  had  displayed 
great  talents,  and  even  great  virtues" — talents, 
undoubtedly.  Macaulay  thinks  that  the  enmity  he 
roused  was  due  to  his  efforts  to  stop  corruption; 
for,  in  1765,  he  had  returned  to  India  for  a  year  and 
a  half  as  Governor,  and  had  devoted  himself  to  the 
purifying  of  the  administration,  pei'haps  repenting 
of  his  own  rapacity.  That,  at  least  remains  to  his 
credit,  but  he  kept  hold  of  his  own  ill-gotten  wealth. 
His  new  ardour  for  purity  had  been  more  admirable, 
had  he  disgorged  his  own  spoils,  and  it  may  well 
be  that  the  attack  on  him  was  largely  due  to  the 
fact  that  he  had  enriched  himself  by  methods  which 
he  forbade  to  others. 

Macaulay  gives  a  terrible  account  of  the  op- 
pressions of  the  Company  at  this  time :  "  thirty 
millions  of  human  beings  were  reduced  to  the 
extremity  of  wretchedness.  They  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  live  under  tyranny,  but  never  under  tyranny 
like  this  ■  . .  That  Government,  oppressive  as  the 
most  oppressive  form  of  barbarian  despotism,  was 
strong  with  all  the  strength  of  civilisation."  He 
quotes  a  MusalmJin  historian,  who  praises  the  extra- 
ordinary courage  and  military  skill  of  the  English  : 
"  but  the  people  under  their  dominion  groan  every- 
where, and  are  reduced  to  poverty  and  distress.  0 
God  !  come  to  the  assistance  of  thy  afflicted  servants, 
and  deliver  them    from    the    oppressions  which  they 


xliv  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    TOR    FREEDOM 

suffer."  In  1770  there  was  an  awful  famine;  "the 
Hooghly  every  day  rolled  down  thousands  of  corpses 
close  to  the  porticoes  and  gardens  of  the  English 
conquerors.  The  very  streets  of  Calcutta  were 
blocked  up  bj^  the  dying  and  the  dead."  It 
was  "  officially  reported  to  have  swept  away  two- 
thirds  of  the  inhabitants "  {Imperial  Gazetteer,  ii, 
480),  or  10,000,000  persons. 

The  terrible  years  roll  on ;  Macaulay  again  lays 
stress  on  them  in  his  Essay  on  Warren  Hastings ;  of 
his  ability,  again,  there  is  as  little  doubt  as  of  his 
crimes.  He  was  Governor  from  1772  to  1785,  taking 
in  1774 'the  title  of  trovernor-General.  He  laboured  at 
administration,  and  tilled  the  Company's  coffers  with 
gold.  The  gathering  of  this  seems  to  have  been  his 
chief  object,  and  was  the  cause  of  his  greatest 
crimes.  The  Nawab  of  Bengal  had  had  an  income 
of  53  lakhs  promised  hiin  by  Clive,  when  deprived 
of  his  power;  Clive  cut  the  allowance  down  to 
41  lakhs  on  the  accession  of  a  new  Nawab,  and 
the  third  was  reduced  to  32  lakhs.  Hastings  found 
a  child  as  the  fourth,  and,  the  child  being  helpless,  cut 
him  down  to  16  lakhs.  He  sold  Alhihabad  and  Koni 
to  Oudh  for  50  hikhs  (then  worth  half  a  million 
pounds  sterling),  and  stopped  the  tribute  of  20 
hikhs  guaranteed  to  the  Emperor  of  Delhi  in  return 
for  Bengal.  To  these  "  concpierors  "  every  treatj'^  was 
a  mere  "scraj)  nt  pajx'r,"  to  be  repudiated  at  pleasure. 
These  **  economies"  wei'e  highly  appreciated  by  the 
Company;  they  left  tlie  Conipany  wealthy  in  gold, 
but  bankrupt  in   huiiour.      Ihul  they  onlj'^  stained  their 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  xlv 

own  honour,  it  would  have  been  their  own  business. 
But  they  stained  the  honour  of  England  in  India's  eyes. 
These  were  the  first  "  English "  whom  she  knew ; 
England  made  some  amends  by  giving  English  edu- 
cation with  its  liberty-inspiring  ideals.  She  will  make 
her  final  amends  by  co-operating  with  India,  as  she  has 
co-operated  with  Ireland,  to  shape  Home  Rule. 

But  worse  crimes  followed  this  auspicious  beginning ; 
the  sale  of  the  Rohillas  to  pillage  and  slaughter : 
the  hanging  of  Nanda-kumara ;  the  coercion  of  the 
Princesses  of  Oudh.  The  Rohillas  were  a  long- 
Indianised  Afghan  people,  whose  "  little  territory " 
says  Macaulay  (Essays,  ii.  193),  "  enjoyed  the  blessings 
of  repuse  under  the  guai'dianship  of  valour.  Agricul- 
ture and  commerce  flourished  among  them  ;  nor  were 
they  negligent  of  rhetoric  and  poetry."  Sujah  Daula, 
Nawab  of  Oudh,  coveted  this  rich  territory,  but 
feared  the  valour  of  the  Rohillas,  numbering  some 
80,000  warriors.  Hastings  sold  him  the  use  of  the 
British  army  for  £400,000  sterling,  and  they,  with 
the  Nawab's  troops,  were  let  loose  on  this  noble 
people.  Fire  and  sword  devastated  the  land  and 
slew  the  people,  and  "  the  rich  province  which  had 
tempted  the  cupidity  of  Sujah  Daula  became  the 
most  miserable  part  even  of  his  miserable  dominions  ". 
In  two  years,  by  such  transactions,  Hastings  gave 
the  Company  about  a  million  sterling  and  £450,000 
increase  of  annual  income.  He  also  had  saved  Bengal 
from  an  annual  military  expenditure  of  £250,000. 

Nanda-kumara  was  a,  wealthy  Brahmana  who 
accused    Hastings     of    some    of    his   crimes ;   before 


xlvi  HOW    INDIA    WKOUGHT    FOK    FREEDOM 

tlii^,  there  was  a  loiif?  story  of  antagonism  ;  lie  was 
a  man  of  high  rank,  talent  and  wealth.  His  accusa- 
tion was  met  by  his  arrest  for  an  alleged  forgery 
six  years  before.  The  infamous  Sir  Klijah  Impey 
was  the  judge,  the  jury  P]nglish.  The  verdict  was  a 
foregone  conclusion,  and  Impey  pronounced  a  sentence 
of  death.  He  died  with  peaceful  dignity,  hanged  on 
the  public  gallows  before  an  enormous  crowd,  amid 
shrieks  and  shouts  of  horror  and  despair. 

The  Princesses  of  Oudh,  the  mother  and  widow  of 
Suraj  Daula  were  enormously  wealthy,  reputed  to 
possess  a  treasure  of  £3,000,000  sterling,  and  great 
revenues  from  land.  The  safety  of  their  wealth  was 
guaranteed  to  them  by  the  (government  of  Bengal. 
But  what  of  that "'  They  were  accused  of  complicity 
in  some  rioting,  but  as  there  was  no  evidence  they 
were  not  brought  to  trial;  Hastings  and  the  new 
Nawab,  grandson  and  son  of  the  Princesses,  agreed  to 
an  act  of  confiscation,  stripping  them  of  everything.  The 
son  repented,  l)ut  not  so  Hastings.  He  imprisoned  the 
Princesses.  He  then  seized  the  two  eunuchs  who  were  at 
the  heiid  of  their  household,  imprisoned,  ironed,  starved 
thein,  and  at  last  gave  them  up  to  torture,  the  Nawab's 
officers  being  empowered  in  writing  to  "have  free 
access  to  the  prisoners  and  be  permitted  to  do  with 
them  }is  they  sh;ill  see  proper,"  as  the  Nawab  had 
"determined  to  iuliict  corporal  punishment"  on  them. 
Tlieir  oidy  ciiinc  was  their  refusal  to  sui-render  the 
chiii-gc  givt'U  fotliciii  l»y  tlicii'dcad  lord.  'I'lic  I^'incesses 
were  kept  in  prison  li;df-starved,  till  they  hail  paid 
£1,200,000. 


HISTOKlt'AL    JNTEODUCTION  xlvii 

Warren  Hastings  was  a  man  of  magnificent  abilities, 
and  made  a  strong  administration,  but  the  record  of 
liis  crimes  is  long  and  terrible.  He  left  India  in  1785, 
and  was  impeached  by  the  House  of  Commons,  which 
had  before  censured  him,  after  long  debate,  for  his 
crimes,  while  the  King  favoured  him,  the  Company 
adored  him,  Lord  Chancellor  Thurlow  protected 
him ;  the  result  was  sure,  despite  the  marvellous 
eloquence  of  Burke.  In  vain  his  passionate  peroration 
rang  out: 

I  impeach  him  in  the  name  of  the  Commons'  House  of 
Parliament,  whose  trust  he  has  betra^yed.  I  imjjeach  him  in  the  name 
of  tlie  English  Nation,  whose  ancient  honour  he  has  sullied.  1  im- 
peach him  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  India,  whose  rights  he  has 
trodden  under  foot,  and  whose  country  he  has  turned  into  a  desert. 
Lastly,  in  the  name  of  human  nature  itself,  in  the  name  of 
l)oth  sexes,  in  the  name  of  every  age,  in  the  name  of  every  rank,  I 
imjjeach  the  common  enemy  and  opjyressor  of  all ! 

The  trial  began  in  1788  and  the  decision  was  pro- 
nounced in  1795.  160  nobles  began  the  trial ;  29  voted 
at  the  close,  a  majority  in  his  favour.  Meanwhile 
Hastings,  secure  in  the  King's  favour,  had  spent  £40,000 
in  bviilding  a  house  and  in  laying  out  its  grounds. 

Within  our  limits  we  cannot  trace  fully  the  growth  of 
the  Indian  Empire :  Lord  Cornwallis  followed  Hastings 
in  1786  and  left  his  mai-k  in  the  Permanent  Settlement 
of  Bengal.  Fighting  as  usual  went  on  in  the  South,  and 
in  the  Third  Mysore  War  (1790-92),  Lord  Cornwallis, 
Governor-General,  allied  with  the  Nizam  of  the  Deccan 
and  the  Maratha  Confederacy,  conquered  Tipu  Sultan 
of  Mysoi-e,  robbed  him  of  half  his  territories — which 
they  divided  between  them — and  exacted  from  him 
three  million  pounds stei'ling,  thus  ensuring  another  wai-. 


xlviii  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT  TOR   FREEDOM 

Marquess  Wellesley  and  the  Nizam,  in  the  fourtli 
Mysore  War  (1799),  finished  him,  and  he  died,  fighting 
gallant!}'  to  the  end,  in  the  breach  at  the  storming 
of  Seringapatam.  This  added  the  Carnatic  to  the 
Madras  Presidency.  The  (quarrels  of  the  Maratha 
Chiefs  enabled  Marquess  AVellesley  to  detach  the 
Peshwa  from  them,  and  he  became  a  vassal  of  the 
Company;  the  third  Maratha  War  followed  (1^0^-0 10) 
and  in  1817-18,  the  last,  the  Maratha  Empire  perished, 
and    left   its    Pi-inces   as   feudatories   of    the  English. 

Ranjit  Singh,  the  "  Lion  of  the  Pan  jab,'"'  who  created 
the  Sikh  kingdom,  and  seized  Lahore  as  his  capital  in 
1799,  when  only  19  years  of  age,  was  the  creator  of 
the  last  Power  the  British  had  to  meet.  His  army  was 
united  by  religion  not  by  territory-  they  wei-e  the 
Sikhs,  the  disciples  of  the  ten  Gurus  who  had  built  up 
the  Khalsa  (Society),  from  Nanak  the  Saiut  to  Govinda 
Singh,  the  Warrior  (1675-1708).  He  made  his  Kingdom 
in  the  Pan  jab  as  tar  south  as  Multan;  in  1809,  Metcalfe 
visited  Paujit  Singh  as  envoy  from  the  British,  and 
concluded  a  treaty  with  him,  making  the  Sutk^i  River 
the  boundary  between  his  Kingdom  and  the  British 
territory.  ^^'ith  liim  there  was  peace  till  his  death  in 
1839,  but  in  1845  the  Sikh  army  ci'ossed  the  Siitlej, 
and  a  iter  loiii-  battk's  was  driven  back.  In  18-18 
tlu'  second  Sikh  War  broke  out;  the  "British  were 
defeated  at  Chilianwala  (18-19),  but  soon  after  Multan 
was  .stormed,  the  victory  of  Gujrat  won,  and  the 
Panjab  was  annexed  two  months  later. 

Lord  Dnlliousie  (1848-56)  started  the  convenient 
theory   tliat  "Xative   States"  were  less  well  governed 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCriON  xlix 

tlian  Britisli  Provinces,  and  should  be  annexed  wher- 
ever possible,  e.g.,  as  when  a  ruler  died  without  a  son. 
Under  these  conditions  he  annexed  Satara  in  1849, 
Jhansi  in  1853,  Nagpuv  in  1858.  Oudh  he  annexed  in 
185(i,  on  high  moral  grounds,  because  its  administra- 
tion was  "fraught  with  suffering  to  millions" — a 
dangei-ous  argument  from  an  ofhcial  of  the  East  India 
Company.  It  was  looked  on  with  alarm  by  the  "  Natives," 
and  contributed  to  the  Sepoj^  Revolt  of  1857,  when 
Lord  Canning  was  Viceroy.  This  broke  out  in  May  10, 
1857,  in  Meerut,  and  ended  in  January,  1859. 

From  that  time  we  may  date  the  famous  "Pax 
Britannica,"  for  until  that  time  there  were  continual 
w.'irs  and  annexations,  while  since  then  there  have 
been  none  further  within  India  itself.  There  have 
Ijeen  frontier  wars,  the  iniquitous  Afghan  wars,  the 
annexation  of  Burma,  but  internal  order  has  been 
niaintanied. 

On  November  1,  1858,  was  held  the  Darbar  of 
Allahabad,  in  which  was  published  the  Queen's 
Proclamation,  assuming  the  Cxovernment  of  India,  and 
making  the  Governor-General  a  Viceroy.  The 
Company  perished  in  the  Sepoy  Rebellion,  in  which 
poured  out  the  hatreds  accumulating  since  Plassey,  in 
J  757.  Th«  Queen's  Proclamation  contained  the 
memorable  w^ords : 

It  is  our  further  will  that,  so  far  as  may  be,  our  subjects  of 
whatever  race  and  creed,  be  freely  and  impartially  admitted  to 
office  in  our  service,  the  duties  of  which  they  may  be  qualified  by 
their  education,  ability  and  credit  duly  to  discharge.  In  their 
prosperity  will  be  our  strength  ;  in  their  contentment  our  securitv  • 
and  in  their  srratitude  our  best  reward. 


1  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Fifty-seven  years  have  rolled  away  since  those  noljle 
words  were  spoken  ;  they  remain  unfulfilled,  and,  as 
the  inevitable  consequence,  the  security  of  contentment 
is  not  j^et  ours. 

The  existing  conditions  in  India,  bearing  on  the 
religious,  economic,  educational  and  poHtical  problems 
of  the  present,  are  dealt  with  in  the  Congress  story. 
They  will  be  better  understood  against  the  historical 
background,  which  shows  that  Indian  Nationality  is 
not  a  plant  of  mushroom  growth,  but  a  giant  of  the 
forest,  with,  millennia  behind  it. 

India  is  now  full  of  unrest,  righteous  unrest ;  she  is 
consequently  held  down  by  a  series  of  enacitments 
unparalleled  in  any  modern  civiliscid  country;  Lord 
Morley  has  had  the  audacity  to  state,  according  to  Sir 
Valentine  Chirol  (Indian  Unrest,  J  54,  ed.  1910)  that 
the  Government  of  India  "  nuisfc  be  an  autocracy,"  and 
India  loathes  autoci-acy.  She  has  enjoyed  all  the 
benefits  which  flow  from  it  during  her  childhood  and 
youth  as  a  Nation,  and  she  has  felt  its  weight  in  British 
hands;  siie  is  now  matui-c ;  she  demands  freedom,  and 
she  is  resolute  to  take  her  destiny  into  her  own  hands, 
as  one  of  the  Free  Notions  in  a  Ci'owned  Common- 
wealth, if  Britain  will  wurk  willi  liei-,  in  making  the 
transit.  Vincent  A.  Smith  {Early  History  of  India, 
p.  881),  in  tracing  the  nnnnls  of  some  "'Indian  petty 
States,"  snys  that  they  show  "  what  India  always  has 
been  when  released  fnimtlu!  control  of  a  supreme  au- 
thority, and  what  she  would  be  again,  if  the  hand  of  the 
benevolent  desijotism  which  now  holds  her  in  its  iron 
grasp,  should    he  withiliawn  "'.    If  a  central  authority 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  11 

is  Avanted,  and  all  Free  Nations  need  it,  to  prevent 
centrifugal  forces  from  causing  disintegration,  India 
demands  that  it  shall  be  her  own  Parliament.  Why 
should  she,  alone  among  civilised  modern  Nations, 
require  a  foreign  supreme  authority  ? 

But  there  is  one  danger  to  India's  future  which  it  is 
well  to  recognise — the  effect  of  the  concomitants  <)f  the 
famous  Pax  Britannica  of  fifty -seven  years.  India  has 
never  before  been  under  foreign  domination  as  a  tvhole. 
If  one  part  of  her  was  invaded,  other  parts  were 
tranquil  :  if  there  was  a  foreign  conquest,  the  new 
rulers  settled  down  on  the  old  lines ;  there  were  no 
barriers  put  up  round  State  offices,  differentiating 
between  the  new-comers  and  the  earlier  inhabitants  ; 
in  fact  the  aim  of  the  new  was  assimilation  with  the 
older  elements  in  a  common  civic  life,  and  when  the 
Musalmans  made  their  Kingdoms  and  Empire,  every- 
thing was  done  to  induce  the  people  to  accept  the  new 
rulers  and  live  in  peace.  Aurangzeb,  the  .sixth  Mughal 
Emperor,  was  the  first  persecutor,  and  his  brutalities 
broke  the  Mughal  power.  The  British  policy  has  been 
different ;  the  whole  administration  of  British  India  has 
been  in  its  own  hands,  and  all  the  chief  positions  of 
responsibility  and  power  have  been  rigidly  confined  to 
the  foreigners ;  it  is  thought  a  wonderful  concession 
that  the  Miiito-Morley  reforms  allowed  one  Indian  to 
enter  the  Imperial  Council !  All  initiative,  all  original- 
ity have  been  rigorously  repressed,  while  manly 
independence  has  been  resented,  and  even  punished. 
It  lias  seemed  as  though  it  were  the  British  aim  to 
turn  the  whole   Indian  Nation  into  a  race  of   clerks. 


lii  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

This  sfeady  crushiiiEr  pressure  over  the  whole  popula- 
tion has  produced  a  serious  result,  and  has  emasculated 
tlie  Nation.  Indians  hesitate,  Avhere  they  should  act ; 
they  ask,  where  they  should  take;  the}'  submit,  where 
they  should  resist;  they  lack  self-confidence  and  the 
audacity  that  commands  success.  Prompt,  rfsolute, 
effective  action  is  but  too  rare;  they  lack  fire  and 
decision.  Mr.  (jokhale,  in  his  answer  before,  the 
Royal  Commission  on  Indian  Expenditure  (Ans. 
18,331),  voiced  the  same  idea,  after  pointing  to  the 
2,388  officials  drawing  annual  salaries  of  Rs.  10,000 
and  upwards,  of  whom  only  60  were  Indians.  "  The 
excessive  costliness  of  the  foreign  agency  is  not,  how- 
ever, its  only  evil.  There  is  a  moral  evil,  which,  if 
anything,  is  even  greater.  A  kind  of  dwarfing  or 
stunting  of  the  Indian  race  is  going  on  under  the 
present  system.  We  must  live  all  the  days  of  our  life 
in  an  atmosphere  of  inferiority,  and  the  tallest  of  us 
must  bend  in  order  that  the  exigencies  of  the  existing 
system  may  be  satisfied."  This  is  the  deepest,  gravest, 
wrong  that  (xreat  Britain  has  intlictod  on  a  once 
mighty  and  imperial  race.  Unless  Indians  can  again 
develop  the  old  vigour,  courage  and  initiative,  India 
can  have  no  future.  But  the  old  spirit  is  awaking 
on  every  si<le,  and  therein  lies  our  hope. 

We  doubt  if  those,  who  read  and  lu^nfy  the  al)ove, 
will  think  that  she  has  got  on  so  badly  in  the  past, 
left  to  luT  own  resources. 

So  Ml-:  Di;  I  )f("n()Ns  and  An'I'icipatioxs 
We    submit    from    a    review   of    this    i-ou^rh  sketch  : 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  liil 

That  India,  despite  foreign  invasions  and  local  dis- 
turbances, whicli  all  nations  have  suffered  in  their 
time — what  peace  had  England  from  the  Conquest  np  to 
the  final  defeat  of  Charles  Edward  in  1745  ? — was  a 
prosperous  and  wealthy  Nation  before  the  coming  of 
the  East  India  Company,  and  that  her  huge  wealth, 
down  to  the  end  of  the  18th  century,  is  a  proof  of 
general  industry  and  security  and  immense  industrial 
output  among  the  masses,  while  the  wealth  of  the 
merchants,  and  of  the  banking  and  trading  communi- 
ties shows  a  settled  condition,  where  credit  was  good  ; 
that  commercial  integrity  was  so  great  that  receipts 
and  bonds  were  not  demanded  in  financial  transac- 
tions. 

That  the  English  connection,  under  the  Company, 
reduced  India  to  poverty,  and  dislocated  her  industries, 
and  that,  under  the  Crown,  the  Government  still 
hamper  her  industries,  make  a  cruelly  severe  drain 
upon  the  country,  and  by  their  fiscal  arrangements 
prevent  the  return  of  prosperity.  That  between  1770 
and  1900 — 130  years — thei-e  have  been  twenty-two 
famines,  eighteen  according  to  the  Report  of  the 
Famine  Cominission  of  1880  and  four  after  1880. 
In  1770,  as  we  have  seen,  thei^e  was  a  famine  in 
Bengal  with  10,000,000  deaths  ;  in  1783  in  Madras  ;  in 
1784,  ill  Upi^er  India,  which  left  Oudh  in  a  pitiable 
condition  ;  in  1792  in  Bombay  and  Madras;  in  1803  in 
Bombay;  in  1804  in  noi-thern  India;  in  1807  in  Madras; 
in  1813  in  Bombay  ;  in  1823  in  Madras ;  in  1833  in  Madras, 
where  in  one  district,  Guntur,  200,000  died  out  of  500,000 
population,    and   the  dead  lay  unlturied  about  Madras, 


liv  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Masulipatam  and  Nt'llove  ;  in  1837  in  north  India,  in 
which  a  calculation  of  800,000  deaths  is  thought  too  low 
by  the  Famine  Commission  ;  in  ISo-i  in  Madras;  in  1860 
in  northern  India,  about  200,000  deaths;  in  1866  in 
Orissa  and  ^Madras,  in  Orissa  a  third  of  the  people 
aied,  about  1,000,000,  in  Madras  about  450,000;  in 
1869  in  north  India,  about  1,200,000  deaths  ;  in  1874 
in  Bengal,  over  1,000,000  were  relieved  and  life  was 
saved  ;  in  1877  in  Madras,  5,250,000  deatlis;  in  1868  in 
north  India,  1,250,000  deaths  ;  in  1889  in  Madras  and 
Orissa;  in  1892  in  Madras,  Bengal  and  Rp.jputana;  in 
1896-7  in  North  India,  I^engal,  Madras  and  Hcanbay — the 
number  of  deaths  is  not  given,  but  4,000,000  persons 
received  relief;  and  in  1899-0,  in  rorth  India,  Central 
Provinces  and  Bombay,  6,500,000  persons  were  in 
receipt  of  relief — the  worst  famine  on  record.  In 
1892  and  1897,  Burma  also  suffered  from  famine.  In 
1896,  bubonic  plague  broke  out  in  Bombay,  and  has 
slain  its  millions. 

That  even  if  Self-Government  should  cause — as  we 
do  not  think  ic  would — any  recrudescence  of  local 
jealousies  and  divisions,  they  would  be  local  and 
temporary  troubles,  (nit  of  which  India  would  emerge 
prosperously,  as  she  has  done  before. 

That  after  an  admitted  prosperous  and  wealthy 
existence  foi-  5,000  years  under  easteriS  rulers,  she 
could  not  fall  into  barhaiism  even  by  the  total  and 
sudden  withdrawal  of  a  rule  that  has  only  been  here 
in  any  kind  of  power  for  a  poor  158  years,  of  which 
the  first  fifty  were  spent  entirely  in  i)lundering,  and 
which    only   stopped  constant  wars  and  annexations  in 


HISTOBICAL    INTRODUCTION  Iv 

1856.  Has  the  history  uf  British  rule  in  India  proved 
to  be  more  peaceful  than  the  worst  of  its  predecessors 
up  to  the  Sepoy  Rebellion  ?  And  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  nearly  all  the  current  liistory  is  the 
special  pleading  oi^  an  advocate,  who  is  representing 
his  own  side  and  blackening  his  antagonists,  minimising 
every  wrong  committed  by  his  own  side,  exaggerating 
every  wrong  done  upon  the  other. 

That  in  the  very  limited  educational  work  she  has 
done,  Britain  has  been  immensely  useful,  for  the  study 
of  her  own  history  has  strengthened  and  given  point 
to  the  National  feeling  that  was  powerfully  aroused  in 
the  rise  of  the  Marathas ;  from  1835  she  took  up 
education,  and  though  it  has  spread  very  slowly,  and  is 
doing  badly  now  in  consequence  of  the  strangling 
policy  initiated  by  the  Universities  Act  of  1904, 
India's  debt  liere  to  Britain  is  great  and  is  fully 
recognised. 

That  Britain  has  done  much  in  railways — of  mixed 
benefit,  being  chiefly  strategic  instead  of  economic,  but 
on  the  whole  desirable ;  much  less  well  than  the  old 
rulers  in  irrigation  works,  in  forestry,  in  village 
government,  and  in  sanitation. 

That  India  welcomes  English  co-operation,  but  is 
getting  very  tired  of  English  domination  ;  that  she  is 
determined  to  get  rid  of  coercive  legislation,  and  to 
enjoy  Self-Government.  That  she  earnestly  desires  to 
have  it  with  English  help,  but  is  resolved  to  have  it. 

That  she  is  perfectly  well  aware  that  England  did 
not  "  conquer  her  by  the  sword,"  bnt  by  the  help  of  her 
•own    swoi'ds,    by    bribery,     intrigue,    and    most   acute 


Ivi  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

diplomacy,  fomentinp-  of  divisions,  and  playing  of  one 
party  against  anotlier.  But  she  is  Avilling  to  let  bye- 
gones  be  bye-gones,  if  Britain  will  now  treat  with  her 
on  equal  terms,  and  welcome  her  as  a  partner,  not  a 
dependent. 

India  Wants  Self-Government  Because: 

1.  British  rule  lins  destroyed  her  ^^illage  and 
Council  Government,  and  has  put  in  its  place  a  hybrid 
system  of  Boards  and  Councils  which  are  impotent  for 
good,  because  well-informed  Indian  opinion  is  over- 
rviled  by  oflicials  who  come,  knowing  nothing  of 
India,  and  seek  to  impose  English  methods  on  an 
ancient  land  which  has  its  own  traditions.  They  then 
complain  that  their  hybi'id  is  sterile.  It  is  the  way 
with  hybrids.  India  wants  to  rebuild  and  improve 
her  own  system,  l)eginning  with  Parichayats,  and 
working  upwards,  untrammelled  by  foreign  experts. 

2.  British  rule  after  eighty  years  of  its  education 
is  educating  2'G  of  the  population,  and  bases  her 
denial  of  liberty  on  the  "  microscopical  nn'nority  "  of 
the  educated,  due  to  her  own  policy.  Japan,  under 
eastern  rule,  has  educated  her  whole  population  in 
40  yeai'S.  British  education  is  not  only  microscopic, 
but  it  is  ill-directed;  it  was  arranged  with  a  view  of 
.supplying  clerks  and  some  profes.sional  riien  in  order 
to  enable  the  Jbitish  Government  to  be  carried  on. 
India  wants  P,  system  wliirh  will  develop  her  resources 
hy  supjjlying  scientiiic  experts  in  every  brancli  where- 
in applied  science  is  needed,  by  sujiplying  practical 
experts  in    all    iii<liistric>    and    crafts;  a  system  which 


HISTOEICAL    INTRODUCTION  Ivii 

will  educate  her  whole  population  for  useful  ends,  as 
the  United  States  nud  (ierniany  have  done  for  their 
populations  and  Rritniii  is  now  doing  for  hers.  India 
also  desires  to  check  the  lavish  expenditure  of  her 
money  on  the  schools  and  colleges  of  foreign  missions 
— British,  Scotch,  American,  German,  Danish,  French, 
Swiss,  Italian — while  those  under  her  own  control 
are  discouraged  and  crippled  in  their  natural  develop- 
ment on  lines  shaped  by  Indians. 

3.  British  rule  has  destroyed  India's  finest  arts  and 
industries  in  order  to  favour  the  importation  of  cheap 
foreign  goods,  and  even  in  machine  industry,  such  as 
cotton,  taxes  the  home-produce  in  order  to  balance 
the  customs  duty  on  imported  goods.  It  encourages 
the  export  of  raw  materials,  which  come  back  as  manu- 
factured articles,  thus  paralysing  Indian  industrial 
efforts  for  the  benefit  of  foreigners.  The  export  in- 
dustry being  in  full  swing,  when  England  goes  to 
War,  India's  materials  are  suddenly  thrown  on  her 
hands,  and  as  she  has  neither  plant,  nor  knowledge 
how  to  use  it,  they  rot  on  the  ground  and  their 
producers  starve.  India  Avould  train  her  own 
sons  to  utilise  her  vast  stores  of  raw  material,  for 
her  own  profit,  and  would  only  send  abroad  her 
surplusage. 

4.  Britishn-ule  has  neglected  irrigation  — only  lately 
taken  up  because  of  the  awful  famines,  and  even  now 
starved  for  want  of  funds — and  while  recklessly  cutting 
forests  down  has,  also  until  lately,  neglected  replanting. 
Huge  tracts  of  land,  especially  in  the  north-west,  have 
consequently  become  deserts,  which  were  formerly  rich 


Iviii  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

and  fertile.     India  would  place  irrigation  and  foi'ostry 
among  the  fii'st  duties  of  Government. 

5.  British  rule  has  neglected  sanitation,  while  the 
tendency  to  centralise  in  towns  and  neglect  villages  has 
necessitated  changes  from  the  old  methods.  Alarmed 
by  the  plague — a  disease  of  dirt,  which  decimated 
Europe  dirty  and  vanished  before  Europe  semi-clean — 
it  took  some  hasty  and  injudicious  methods,  which 
alienated  Indian  sympathy,  and  is  now  more  busy 
with  injecting  serums  into  Indian  bodies,  thus  really 
perpetuating  disease,  than  with  sanitation.  The 
trouble  is  increased  by  the  arrogant  contempt  for 
indigenous  systems,  and  the  ousting  of  them  bj'' 
Government,  while  it  is  impossible  to  replace  them 
adeciuately  everywhere  with  the  costly  modern 
appliances.  India  would  insist  on  sanitation  as  among 
the  first  duties  of  Government,  would  encourage  all 
that  is  good  in  the  old  systems,  and  utilise  Avhatis  good 
in  western  methods. 

6.  Britiish  rule  is  extremely  costly ;  it  employs 
Europeans  in  the  highest  posts  at  the  highest 
salaries,  and  introduces  them  everywhere  as  "experts" 
— experts  ignorant  of  the  conditions  in  which 
they  are  working;  it  keeps  special  preserves 
wholly  for  Europeans;  others  into  which  Indians 
may  enter  at  the  heavy  cost  of  goisig  to  Eng- 
land to  obtain  "English  degrees";  it  pensions  its 
servants,  so  that  the  Knglish  ones  live  on  Indian  money 
when  they  retire  to  England,  making  a  huge  annual 
di-aiii  ;  it  encourages  exjiloitation  of  the  country  by 
hiUgllsh  companies  and  Iviglisli  ca])!!;!!,  making  aiK)tlier 


HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION  llX 

•<lrain;  it  makes  Jiidia  pa^'  t'oi- an  Indian  army,  main- 
tainod  to  keep  India  in  subjecti(jn;  it  makes  India  pay 
for  a  costly  English  establishment,  the  central  auto- 
•cracy,  irresponsible  to  Parliament.  India  wonid  do 
away  with  all  this  ;  would  open  everything  to  Indians 
— as  indeed  the  Proclamation  of  1858  promised— and 
require  no  foreign  degrees  as  credentials  ;  would  abo- 
lish the  India  Office ;  would  acknowledge,  outside 
India,  the  authoi'ity  only  the  Crown  and  the  Imperial 
Parliament,  in  which  she  enjoyed  adequate  representa- 
tion. She  would  have  her  own  Army  and  Navy,  for 
protection  and  Imperial  needs,  not  to  hold  her  people 
down. 

7.  British  rule  has  substituted  coercion  for  improve- 
ments in  Grovernment,  like  any  other  autocracy. 
India  would  sweep  all  this  coercive  legislation  away ; 
she  would  not  be  afraid  of  her  people  possessing  arms  ; 
she  would  not  be  afraid  of  the  criticism  of  free  speech 
and  a  free  Press  ;  she  would  reform  abuses  instead 
of  strangling  the  expression  of  the  discontent  which 
abuses  produce;  she  would  ennilate  British  rule 
in  Britain,  not  British  rule  in  India. 

In  a  phrase : 

India  is  enthralled,  and  she  is  determined  to  be  free. 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 


CHAPTER  I 

In  late  December  in  1884,  seventeen  men  met  in  Madras, 
in  tlie  house  of  that  stalwart  advocate  of  religion  and 
reform,  Dewan  Bahadur  Raghunath  Rao.  Nearly  all 
of  them  had  been  delegates  to  the  just-ended  Annual 
Convention  of  the  Theosophical  Society  at  Adyar,  and 
the  others  had  been  there  as  friends  and  sympathisers. 
But  surely  this  new  pride  in  India's  mighty  faiths 
throbbing  in  their  hearts,  this  dawning  hope  of  India's 
greatness  in  the  future  to  correspond  with  the  great- 
ness of  her  past,  this  feeling  that  the  discrowned  East 
is  not  always  to  remain  a  thrall  to  the  younger 
western  Nations,  and  that  Asia,  once  the  cradle  of 
mighty  Empires,  shall  again  stretch  out  her  hands 
to  grasp  the  sceptre  and  the  imperial  ball — these 
dreams  sent  out  the  dreamers  to  take  counsel  together, 
and  they  resdlved,  greatly  daring,  to  form  themselves 
into  a  group  of  provisional  Committees,  men  from 
different  towns  to  win  others,  each  in  his  place,  and  to 
meet  later  for  further  consultation.  Let  us  place  on  re- 
cord their  names,  for  they  were  the  seed  of  a  mighty 
tree.     Norendranath  Sen  of  Calcutta,  that  sturdiest  of 


2  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

fighters,  was  one  of  the  little  group,  and  he  gave 
their  names  later  in  his  paper,  The  Indian  Mirror;  he 
remarks  that  "  the  delegates  who  attended  the  Con- 
vention were  most  of  them  men  avIio,  socially  and 
intellectually,  are  the  leaders  of  the  Society  in  which 
they  move  in  different  parts  of  the  countiy  ".  They 
were  : 

Madras  :    The     Hon.    Mr.  S.     Subramania  Iyer 
(subsequently  Judge  of  the  High  Court,  Act- 
ing    Chief   Justice,  K.C.I.E.,  and  LL.D.),  and 
Messrs.    P.    Rangiah    Naidu    and    P.    Ananda 
Charlu. 
Calcutta :     Messrs.    Norendranath    Sen,    Suren- 
dranath  Bannerji   (the    "  uncrowned    King    of 
Bengal,"  the  great  orator,  and  National  leader), 
and  M.  Ghosh. 
Bumhay  :    The   Hon.  Messrs.  Y.  N.  Mandlik  and 
K.  T.  Telang  (later,  Judge  of  the  High  Court) 
and    Mr.    Dadabhai    Naoroji    (the   G.O.M.  of 
India). 
Poona :    Messrs.     C.    Vijiarauga    Mudaliar,    and 

Pandurang  Gopal. 
Benares:   Sardar  Dyal  Singh. 
AllaJiahad  :  Mr.   Harishcliandra. 
N.W.r.:      Mr.      Kashi     Prasad      and      Pandit 

Jjaksliminarayaii. 
Beiujal  :  ^fr.   Chai'uchaiidra  Mitter. 
Oudh  :   Mr.   Sliri  Ham. 
Seventeen    good    men    and    true,    who   out  of  their 
love    and   their   hope  conceived  the  idea  of  a  political 
National  Movement  for  the  saving  of  the  Motherland. 


THE    FIRST    CONGRESS  O 

There  seems  to  be  no  record  of  tlie  work  done  in 
their  own  towns  and  provinces  on  their  return  home, 
but  the  Proceedings  of  the  First  Indian  National  Con- 
gress tells  us  that  "  in  March,  1885,  it  was  decided 
to  hold  a  meeting  of  Representatives  from  all  parts 
of  India  at  the  then  coming  Christmas.  Poona  was 
considered  the  most  central  and  therefore  suitable 
place,"  From  this  onwards  we  have  the  official 
Reports  to  guide  our  steps. 

From  this  meeting  the  following  circular  was  issued, 
profoundly  interesting  now,  in  1915,  as  showing  the 
minds  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Congress  in  these  days 
of  origin,  in  1885,  just  thirty  years  ago.  It  shows 
the  first  ideas  of  those  who  were  to  be  the  leaders  of 
the  Indian  Nation  in  her  struggles  to  regain  her  lost 
liberty,  and  to  become  a  Self-governing  Nation,  free 
amid  the  Free  Communities  which  form  the  mighty 
Empire  "  on  which  the  Sun  never  sets  ". 

Here  is  the  circular  : 

A  Conference  of  the  Indian  National  Union  will  be 
held    at    Poona  from  the  25th  to  the  31st  December  1885. 

The    Conference    will    be    composed    of  Delegates — 

leading    politicians    well     acquainted    with  the    English 

language — from    all   parts    of   the    Bengal,  Bombay  and 
Madras  Presidencies. 

The  direct  objects  of  the  Conference  will  be  :  (1)  to 
enable  all  the  most  earnest  labourers  in  the  cause  of 
national  progress  to  become  personally  known  to  each 
other  ;  (2)  to  discuss  and  decide  upon  the  political 
operations  to  be  undertaken  during  the  ensuing  year. 

Indirectly  this  Conference  will  form  the  germ  of  a 
Native     Parliament     and,     if     properly    conducted,    will 


4  HOW   INDIA    WROUGHT    FOE    FREEDOM 

constitute  in  a  few  years  an  unanswerable  reply  to  the 
assertion  that  India  is  still  wholly  unfit  for  any  form  of 
representative  institutions.  The  first  Conference  will 
decide  whether  the  next  shall  be  again  held  at  Poona,  or 
whether,  following  the  precedent  of  the  British  Association, 
the  Conferences  shall  be  held  year  by  year  at  difPerent 
important  centres. 

This  year  the  Conference  being  in  Poona,  Mr. 
Chiplonkar  and  others  of  the  Sarvajanik  Sabha,  have 
consented  to  form  a  Reception  Committee  in  whose  hands 
will  rest  the  whole  of  the  local  arrangements.  The 
Peshwah's  Garden  near  the  Parbati  Hill  will  be  utilised 
both  as  a  place  of  meeting  (it  contains  a  fine  Hall,  like  the 
garden,  tlie  property  of  the  Sabha)  and  as  a  residence  for 
the  delegates,  each  of  whom  will  be  there  provided  with 
suitable  quarters.  Much  importance  is  attached  to  this, 
since,  when  all  thus  reside  together  for  a  week,  far  greater 
opportunities  for  friendly  intercourse  will  be  afforded  than 
if  the  delegates  were  (as  at  the  time  of  the  late  Bombay 
demonstrations)  scattered  about  in  dozens  of  private 
lodging  houses  all  over  the  town. 

Delegates  are  expected  to  find  their  own  way  to  and 
from  Poona — but  finjm  the  time  they  reach  the  Poona 
Railway  Station  until  they  leave  it  again,  everything 
that  they  can  need,  carriage,  accommodation,  food,  etc., 
will  be  provided  for  them  gratuitously. 

The  cost  thus  involved  will  be  defrayed  from  the 
Reception  Fund,  which  the  Poona  Association  most 
liberally  offers  to  provide  in  the  first  instance,  but  to 
which  all  delegates,  whose  means  warrant  their  incurring 
this  further  expense,  will  be  at  liberty  to  contribute  any 
sum  the}'  please.  Any  unutilised  balance  of  such  dona- 
tions will  be  carried  forward  as  a  nucleus  for  next  year's 
Reception  Fund. 

It  is  believed  that  exclusive  of  our  Poona  friends, 
the  Bombay  Presidency,  inclndiug  Siiidli  and  the  Berars, 
will  furnish  about  20  delegates,  Madras  and  Lower  Bengal 
each  about  the  same  numl)er,  and  the  N.  W.  Provinces, 
Oudh,    and    the    Pan  jab  together  about  half  this  number. 


THE    FIRST    CONGRESS  D 

Very  modest  were  they,  and  very  accurate  witlial  in 
their  estimate  of  seventy  delegates,  for  seventy-two 
actually  recorded  their  names  as  Representatives, 
while  another  thirty  attended  as  friends,  being,  as 
Government  servants,  precluded  from  acting  as  Re- 
presentatives in  a  political  gathering.  The  first  meet- 
ing did  not,  however,  take  place  at  Poona,  for,  only  a 
few  days  before  Christmas,  some  sporadic  cases  of  cholera 
occurred,  possibly  presaging  an  outbreak,  and  it  was 
thought  wiser  to  move  the  Conference,  now  called  the 
Congress,  to  Bombay.  The  Managers  of  the  Gokuldas 
Tejpal  Samskrit  College  and  Boarding  House  placed 
the  whole  of  their  fine  buildings  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Congress,  and  all  was  ready  by  the  morning  of  the  27th 
December  for  the  reception  of  the  Representatives  of 
the  Indian  Nation.  As  we  glance  over  the  lists  of 
those  who  were  present,  how  many  we  see  who  became 
famous  in  the  annals  of  India's  struggle  for  Freedom. 
Among  those  who  could  not  act  as  Representatives — 
for  the  reason  given  above — we  note  the  Reformer, 
Dewan  Bahadur  R.  Raghunath  Rao,  Deputy  Collector 
of  Madras,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Mahadev  Gr.  Ranade,  then 
member  of  the  Legislative  Council  and  Small  Cause 
Court  Judge  of  Poona,  later  to  be  a  Judge  of  the 
High  Court  of  Bombay,  and  leader  honoured  and 
trusted  ;  Lala''Baijnath  of  Agra  was  there,  to  be  known 
as  scholar  and  writer  later  on ;  and  Professors 
K.  Sundararaman  and  R.  G.  Bhandarkar.  Among  the 
Representatives  may  be  noted  editors  of  well-known 
Indian  papers,  of  The  Dnyan  Prakash,  The  Quarterly 
Journal  of  the  Poona  Sarvajanik  Sabha,  The  Maratha, 


6  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

The  Kesari,  The  Nahahihhakar,  The  Indian  Mirrur, 
The  Nassin,  The  WmdiLstJiani,  TJie  Tribune,  The  Indian 
Union,  The  Indian  Spectatur,  TJie  Indit  Prakash,  The 
Hindu,  The  Crescent.  How  many  names  shine  out, 
familiar  and  honoured  :  Mr,  A.  0.  Hume  is  there  from 
Simla;  W.C.  Bannerji  and  Norendranath  vSen  from  Cal- 
cutta ;  W.  S.  Apte  and  G.  G.  Agarkar  from  Poona  ; 
Gangaprasad  Varma  from  Lucknow;  DadabhaiNaoroji, 
K.  T.  Telang,  Pherozeshah  M.  Mehta — then,  as  now, 
leader  of  the  Bombay  Corporation — D.  E.  Wacha, 
B.  M.  Malabari,  N.  G.  Chandavarkar  from  Bombay ; 
P.  Rangiah  Naidu,  President  of  the  Mahajana  Sabha, 
S.  Subramania  Iyer,  P.  Ananda  Charlu,  G.  Subramania 
Aiyar,  M.  Viraraghavachariar  from  Madras;  P.  Kesava 
Pillai  from  Anantapur.  These  were  among  the 
earliest  who  wrought  for  India's  Freedom,  and  those 
yet  on  earth  are  working  for  her  still. 

At  12  noon,  on  December  28th,  1885,  in  the  Hall 
of  the  Gokuldas  Tejpal  Samskrit  College,  the  First 
National  Congress  met.  The  first  voices  heard  were 
those  of  Mr.  A.  O.  Hume,  the  Hon.  Mr.  S.  Subra- 
mania Iyer  and  the  Hon.  Mr.  K.  T.  Telang,  who 
proposed,  seconded  and  supported  the  election  of  the 
first  President,  Mr.  W.  C.  Bannerji.  A  solemn  and 
historic  moment  was  that  in  which  the  first  of  the 
long  line  of  men  thus  honoured  by  the  Motherland 
took  his  seat,  to  preside  over  her  first  National 
Assem])ly. 

After  alluding  to  the  rejn-esentative  and  weighty 
character  of  the  Congress,  ho  laid  down  under  four 
heads  the  objects  of  the  Congress  : 


THE    FIRST    CONGRESS  7 

(a)  The  promotion  of  personal  intimacy  and  friend- 
ship amongst  all  the  more  earnest  workers  in  our  country's 
cause  in  the  various  parts  of  the  Empire. 

(b)  The  eradication  by  direct  friendly  personal 
intercourse  of  all  possible  race,  creed,  or  provincial 
prejudices  amongst  all  lovers  of  our  country,  and  the 
fuller  development  and  consolidation  of  those  sentiments 
of  national  unity  that  had  their  origin  in  their  beloved 
Lord  Ripon's  ever  memorable  reign. 

(c)  The  authoritative  record,  after  this  has  been 
carefull}"  elicited  by  the  fullest  discussion,  of  the  matured 
opinions  of  the  educated  classes  in  India  on  some  of  the 
more  important  and  pressing  of  the  social  questions  of 
the  day. 

(d)  The  determination  of  the  lines  upon  and  methods 
by  which  during  the  next  twelve  months  it  is  desirable  for 
native  politicians  to  lal:»our  in  the  public  interests. 

Of  these  the  first  three  have  been  well  worked  out, 
but  the  fourth  has  been  less  regarded,  and  needs 
urging  to-day.  Such  guidance  is  supremely  neces- 
sary, and  the  Nation  has  the  right  to  demand  it  from 
its  best  men.  In  all  organised  movements  some 
direction  from  the  centre  is  necessary.  The  Congress 
has  admirably  focussed  educated  opinion,  passing 
valuable  judgments  on  events  and  policy,  and 
demanding  necessary  reforms  from  Government, 
but  it  has  not  adequately  outlined  the  work  to  be 
done  during  each  coming  year ;  hence  political 
work  has  lacked  point  and  vigour ;  it  is  impossible  to 
agitate  for  all  the  matters  touched  on  by  resolutions, 
and  hence  political  work  in  the  whole  country  has  been 
spasmodic  and  sporadic,  and  therefore  largely  in- 
effective ;    there    is    no    concerted    work.      Yet    what 


8  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOB    FREEDOM 

India  can  do  in  the  way  of  agitation  when  she  has  an 
objective  is  clearly  shown  by  the  agitation  on  South 
African  grievances. 

The  nine  resolutions  of  the  first  National  Congress 
mark  the  beginning  of  the  formulation  of  India's 
demands. 

The  first  asked  for  a  Royal  Commission  to  enquire 
into  the   working  of    Indian  administration. 

The  second  for  the    abolition    of   the  India  Council. 

The  third  dealt  with  the  defects  of  the  Legislative 
Councils  in  which  then  all  the  members  were  nomin- 
ated, and  asked  for  the  admission  of  elected  members, 
for  the  right  of  interpellation,  for  the  submission 
of  budgets  to  the  Councils,  for  the  creation  of 
Councils  in  the  N.  W.  P.  and  Oudh,  and  in  the 
Panjab,  and  for  a  Standing  Committee  in  the  House  of 
Commons  to  consider  formal  protests  from  majorities 
in  the  Councils. 

The  fourth  prayed  for  simultaneous  examinations 
for  the  I.  C.  S.  and  the  raising  of  the  age  of 
candidates. 

The  fifth  and  sixth  dealt  with  military  expenditure. 

The  seventh  protested  against  the  annexation  of 
Upper  Burma  and  tlie  ])r()p()sed  incorporation  of  it 
v/ith    India. 

The  eightli  ordered  tlie  sending  of  the  resolutions 
to  Political  Associations,  and  they  were  discussed  and 
passed  all  over  the  country  by  political  bodies  and 
public  meetings,  an  admirable  plan  which  has  fallen 
into  desuetude  ;  they  were  carried  with  much  enthu- 
siasm,  and    liero  and  there  amended  on  minor  points. 


THE    FIRST    CONGRESS  9 

while  Bapatla  objected  to  the  abolition  of  the  India 
Council,  which  it  regarded  as  a  check  on  the  Secre- 
tary of  State,  and  wanted  its  power  over  him  made 
effective. 

The  final  resolution  fixed  the  next  Congress  at 
Calcutta,  on  December  28th,  1886. 

Of  these  resolutions,  the  first  has  been  partially 
granted  by  the  Decentralisation  and  Public  Services 
Commissions ;  the  second  is  still  being  demanded ; 
much  of  the  third  was  given  in  the  Minto-Morley 
reforms  ;  the  prayer  of  the  fourth  is  still  ungranted  as 
regards  simultaneous  examinations,  but  the  age  of 
candidates  has  been  raised ;  the  fifth,  sixth  and 
seventh  had  no  effect.  'J'he  eighth  and  ninth  were, 
of  course,  carried  out. 

Mr.  Gr.  Subramania  Iyer  of  Madras,  the  Editor  of 
The  Hindu  and  one  of  the  boldest  and  farthest-sighted 
of  the  Madras  leaders,  moved  the  first  resolution  in 
an  admii'able  speech,  much  of  which  is  valid  for 
to-day.  It  ran  :  ''That  this  Congress  earnestly  approves 
of  the  promised  Committee  to  enquire  into  the  working 
of  the  Indian  administration."  He  pointed  out  that 
in  the  days  of  the  East  India  Company,  the  renewal 
of  its  Charter  at  twenty  years'  intervals  brought  about 
a  most  valuable  enquirj^  into  the  condition  of  the 
country,  but'  that  since  the  Crown  had  taken  it  over 
in  1858,  these  had  ceased,  and  the  distressing  de- 
terioration of  the  condition  of  the  people  was  going 
on  unnoticed.  Parliament  took  control  in  theory,  but 
abandoned  it  in  fact — except  where  English  party- 
interests  were  concerned — and  the  India  Council  took 


10  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

up  the  place  of  the  defunct  Company,  but  ruled  with- 
out enquiry;  he  appealed  to  "  the  justice  and  fairness 
of  the  English  people,"  and  asked  for  an  enquiry  into 
facts.  Mr.  Pherozeshah  Mehta  seconded,  and  re- 
marked that  there  must  not  be  an  enquiry  by 
"  Anglo-Indians,  sitting  in  judgment  on  themselves  ". 
Mr.  Norendi^anath  Sen  supported,  pointing  out  that 
the  enquiry  would  be  a  sort  of  stock-taking  as  to  the 
results,  after  twenty-seven  years,  of  direct  Govern- 
ment by  the  Crown.  A  lively  debate  ensued,  an 
amendment  being  proposed,  and  the  resolution 
was  finally  carried  in  the  amended  form.  (The 
resolutions    are   printed    at    the    end  of  the  Chapter.) 

The  second  resolution  was  moved  on  December 
29th  by  Mr.  Chiplonkar,  and  asked  for  the  abolition 
of  India's  Old  Man  of  the  Sea,  the  India  Council. 
He  pointed  out  that  India  was  not  governed  by  the 
Crown,  but  by  retired  Anglo-Indian  officials,  looked 
on  doubtfully  by  Lord  Beaconsfield  in  1858.  (Those 
who  care  to  read  the  debate  over  the  Government  of 
India  Bill  will  find  what  now  sound  astonishingly 
democratic  statements,  and  regrets  that  the  Re- 
bellion barely  ended  made  ])ro})er  representation  of 
India  im])ossible  just  then.) 

Mr.  Ananda  Charlu  was  very  caustic  in  seconding 
tJH!  ri'solufioji,  and  commented  on  the  (jddity  of  the 
"  oligarciiy  of  fossilised  Indian  administrators," 
who  were  "  superannuated  for  service  in  India," 
being  competent  to  deal  with  increased  complexity 
of  problems  in  England,  where  the  improved  climate 
could  only  diminish  the  rate  of  decline.    The  abolition 


THE    FIRST    CONGRESS  11 

of  the  Council  was  a  primary  condition  of  all 
other  reforms.  Mr.  Pherozeshah  Mehta  also  thought 
that  eifete  Anglo-Indians,  who  would  be  partial  to 
their  brethren  in  India,  were  a  very  unsatisfactory 
appellate  tribunal. 

The  resolution  was  carried  unanimously  and  has 
been  carried  at  inter v^als  ever  since,  but  in  vain. 

The  third  resolution  was  moved  in  a  very  full  and 
careful  speech  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  K.  T.  Telang,  who 
usefully  indicated  possible  electorates  for  members 
of  the  Legislative  Councils,  and  the  Hon.  Mr. 
S.  Subramania  Iyer  seconded,  both  by  personal 
experience  as  members  knowing  how  "  little  influence 
they  possessed  in  the  Councils  either  for  good  or  for 
evil  ".  They  could  not  be  "  of  any  great  use  to  the 
country  ".  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji  cogently  said  that 
they  had  learnt  from  "  the  English  people  how 
necessary  representation  is  for  good  Government  " ; 
without  it  "what  good  is  it  to  India  to  be  under  the 
British  sway  ?  It  will  be  simply  another  Asiatic 
despotism.  .  .  .  We  are  only  British  drudges  or  slaves." 
There  was  a  long  debate,  and  the  resolution  was 
carried  unanimously  on  the  following  day.  It  was 
partly  granted  in  the  Minto-Morley  reforms  24  years 
later. 

The  fourth  resolution  Avas  moved  by  Mr.  Dadabhai 
Naoroji,  and  the  discussion  was  remarkable  for  the 
speech  of  Mr.  D.  S.  White,  who  wished  to  stop  the 
importation  of  boys  from  England  at  great  expense, 
and  to  abolish  the  Civil  Service,  utilising,  both  from 
England  and  India,  men  of  experience  and  reputation. 


12  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

The  resolution  was  carried,  and  the  age  limit  has 
been  raised,  but  the  main  prayer  is  not  yet  granted. 
It  is  pathetic  to  read  the  reiterated  confidence  of 
the  speakers  "  in  the  justice  of  the  English  people/' 
and  to  see  that  that  confidence  is  still  unjustified. 

Mr.  P.  Rangiah  Naidu,  in  the  next  resolution,  after 
pointing  out  that  military  expenditure  had  increased 
from  £11,463,000  in  1857  to  £16,975,750  in  1884, 
pleaded  with  the  Government  to  "  change  their  pres- 
ent policy  of  suspicion  and  distrust  for  a  generous 
and  confiding  one,"  to  improve  the  "  Native  Army," 
to  accept  the  offers  of  the  people  to  enrol  as  Volun- 
teers ;  then  no  more  European  soldiers  Avould  be  need- 
ed. Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha,  in  seconding,  made  the  first  of 
many  great  Congress  speeches,  an  able  and  exhaustive 
review  of  the  military  position,  cruelly  unfair  to 
India  and  placing  on  her  most  unjust  burdens.  The 
resolution  was  carried,  as  was  the  next,  urging  that 
if  military  expenditure  was  not  diminished,  it  should 
be  met  by  re-imposition  of  the  import  duties,  the 
abolition  of  which  had  robbed  poverty-stricken  India 
to  enrich  wealthy  Lancashire.  The  debate  showed 
the  thorough  knowledge  and  rare  ability  of  the  men 
taking  part  in  it,  and  we  hear  also  their  repudiation 
of  opinions  now  Ic^ng  familiar  through  thirty  years 
of  repetition,  that  educated  huliniis  were  disloyal,  and 
that  English  education  had  awakened  dangerous 
aspirations. 

The  resolution  dii  l)ui'ina,  and  the  remaining  two 
were  quickly  passed,  and  the  first  National  Congress 
dissolved,   leaving   a  happy  and  inspiring  memory  of 


THE    FIRST    CONGRESS  13 

fine  work  done,  and  unity  demonstrated.  India  had 
found  her  Voice.  India  was  realising  herself  as  a 
Nation,  Strange  and  menacing  was  the  portent  in  the 
eyes  of  some.  Splendid  and  full  of  hope  in  the  eyes 
of  others.  The  rosy  fingers  of  the  Dawn-Maidens 
had  touched  the  Indian  skies.  When  would  her  Sun 
of  Freedom  rise  to  irradiate  the  Motherland  ? 

RESOLUTIONS 

1.  That  this  Congress  earnestly  recommends  that  the  promised 
enquiry  into  the  working  of  Indian  Administration,  here  and  in 
England,  should  be  entrusted  to  a  Royal  Commission,  the  people  of 
India  being  adequately  represented  thereon,  and  evidence  taken 
both  in  India  and  in  England. 

2.  That  this  Congress  considers  the  abolition  of  the  Council  of 
the  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  as  at  present  constituted,  the 
necessary  preliminary  to  all  other  reforms. 

3.  That  this  Congress  considers  the  reform  and  expansion  of  the 
Supreme  and  existing  Local  Legislative  Councils  by  the  admission 
of  a  considerable  proportion  of  elected  members  (and  the  creation 
of  similar  Councils  for  the  N.W.  Provinces  and  Oudh,  and  also  for 
Panjab)  essential  ;  and  holds  that  all  Budgets  should  be  referred  to 
these  Councils  for  consideration,  their  members  being  moreover 
empowered  to  interpellate  the  Executive  in  regard  to  all  branches 
of  the  administration  ;  and  that  a  Standing  Committee  of  the  House 
of  Commons  should  be  constituted  to  receive  and  consider  any  formal 
protests  that  maj-  be  recorded  by  majorities  of  such  Councils  against 
tlie  exercise  by  the  Executive  of  the  power,  which  would  be  vested 
in  it,  of  overruling  the  decision  of  such  majorities. 

4.  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  competitive  examin- 
ations now  held  in  England,  for  first  appointments  in  various  civil 
departments  of  the  pulslic  service,  should,  henceforth,  in  accordance 
with  the  views  •  of  the  India  Office  Committee  of  I860,  be  held 
simultaneously  one  in  England  and  one  in  India,  both  being  as  far 
as  practicable  identical  in  their  nature,  and  those  who  (-ompete  in 
both  countries  being  finally  classified  in  one  list  according  to  merit, 
and  that  the  successful  candidates  in  India  should  be  sent  to  England 
for  further  study,  and  subjected  there  to  such  further  examinations  as 
may  seem  needful.  Piu'ther,  that  all  other  first  appointments  (exclud- 
ing peonships,  and  the  like)  should  be  filled  by  competitive  examina- 
tions   held    in  India,    under    conditions   calculated    to    secure    such 


14  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

intellectual,  moral,  and  physical  qualifications  as  may  be  decided  by 
Government  to  be  necessai-y.  Lastly,  that  the  maximum  a^e  of 
candidates  for  entrance  into  the  Covenanted  Civil  Service  be 
raised  to  not  less  than  23  years. 

5.  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  proposed  increase 
in  the  military  expenditure  of  the  empire  is  unnecessary,  and 
regard  being  had  to  the  revenues  of  the  empire  and  the  existing 
circumstances  of  the  country,  excessive. 

6.  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  if  the  increased 
demands  for  military  expenditure  are  not  to  be,  as  they  ought  to  be, 
met  by  retrenchment,  they  ought  to  be  met,  firstly,  by  the  re- 
imposition  of  the  Ciistoms  duties  ;  and,  secondly  by  the  extension 
of  the  licence-tax  to  those  classes  of  the  communitj',  official  and 
non-official,  at  present  exempted  from  it,  care  being  taken  that  in 
the  case  of  all  classes  a  sufficiently  high  taxable  minimum  be 
maintained.  And  fui-ther,  that  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that 
Great  Bi-itain  should  extend  an  imperial  guarantee  to  the  Indian 
debt. 

7.  That  this  Congress  deprecates  the  annexation  of  Upper^ 
Burma  and  considers  that  if  the  Government  unfortunately  decide 
on  annexation,  the  entire  country  of  Burma  should  be  separated 
from  the  Indian  Viceroyalty  and  constituted  a  Crown  Colony,  as 
distinct  in  all  matters  from  the  Gt)vernment  of  this  country  as  is 
Ceylon. 

8.  That  the  resolutions  passed  by  this  Congress  be  communi- 
cated to  the  Political  Associations  in  each  province,  and  that  these 
Associations  be  requested  with  the  help  of  similar  bodies  and  other 
agencies  within  their  res{)ective  provinces  to  adopt  such  measures 
as  they  may  consider  calculated  to  advance  the  settlement  of  the 
various  questions  dealt  with  in  these  resolutions. 

9.  That  the  Indian  National  Congress  re-assemble  next  year  in 
Calcutta,  and  sit  on  Tuesday,  the  28th  of  December,  1886,  and  the 
next  succeeding  days. 


CHAPTER  II 

The  different  character  of  the  second  Congress  as 
compared  with  the  first  has  rightly  been  emphasised 
in  the  official  record.  As  it  points  out,  the  first 
Congress  was  composed  of  Volunteers,  the  second 
of  Delegates,  and  in  those  two  words  lies  the  essen- 
tial difference,  and  they  mark  the  immense  progress 
in  the  country  which  lay  between  the  two.  The 
Congress  had  captured  the  heart  as  well  as  the 
brain  of  India.  It  is  interesting  to  turn  over  the 
pages  containing  extracts  from  papers  published  in 
all  parts  of  India,  and  to  glance  at  the  reports  of 
the  meetings  held  for  the  election  of  delegates ;  in 
these  early  days  any  association  of  any  kind,  or  any 
public  meeting,  might  elect ;  there  was  no  organisa- 
tion to  speak  of ;  only  an  effort  to  find  out  that 
which  the  Nation  wished.  In  this  way  500  delegates 
were  elected,  of  whom  434  actually  registered  their 
names  and  credentials  as  present,  and  it  is  thought 
that  4  or  5  /eft  without  doing  so.  Various  circulars 
were  issued  suggesting  subjects  for  discussion  and 
outlining  proposals,  so  that  delegates  might  not  come 
unprepared — a  plan  that,  unfortunately,  fell  into 
desuetude.  The  representation  of  the  Provinces  is 
noteworthy,  as  showing  the  amount  of  interest  taken 


16  HOW    INDIA   WROUaHT    FOE    FREEDOM 

in  each.  The  N.  W.  P.  and  Oudh  head  the  list — out- 
side Bengal — with  74  delegates,  marking  the  enlight- 
enment of  the  great  Province  which  contains 
Lucknow,  Cawnpur,  Agra,  Allahabad,  Benares, 
Bareilly,  Meerut,  active  centres  of  thought ;  Bombay 
and  Madras  each  sent  47.  Pan  jab  only  17  ;  Central 
Provinces  and  Assam  8  each.  Bengal  naturally  sent 
a  very  large  number,  230,  but  she  had  70  millions  of 
people,  while  the  next,  the  N.  W.  P.  and  Oudh,  had 
only  44.  Reckoned  by  percentages  Bengal  had  3'o 
per  million,  and  Bombay  2*7. 

The  delegates  began  to  stream  into  Calcutta  on  the 
25th,  and  the  first  meeting  of  the  Congress  was  held 
on  December  28th,  in  tlie  Town  Hall,  packed  to  its 
limit  of  holding  ;  the  famous  scholar.  Dr.  Rajendra- 
lala  Mittra,  welcomed  the  delegates  and  the  visitors  ; 
he  demanded  with  no  uncertain  voice  that  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  should  be  elected  to  the 
Legislative  Councils  : 

We  live,  not  under  a  National  Government,  but 
under  a  foreign  bm^eaucraey ;  our  foreign  rulers  are 
foreigners  b}-  bii'tli,  religion,  language,  habits,  by  every- 
thing that  divides  humanity  into  different  sections.  They 
fannot  possibly  dive  "  into  our  hearts  ;  they  cannot 
ascertain  our  wants,  our  feelings,  our  aspirations.  They 
may  try  their  best,  and  I  liave  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
many  of  our  Governors  have  tried  hard  to  ascertain  our 
feelings  and  our  wants  ;  l)ut  owing  to  their  peculiar 
position,  they  have  failed  to  ascertain  them. 

Then    came   a   striking   episode.     A   very  old  man, 

a    great    landed    proprietor,     "  blind    and    trembling 

with  age,"  Jaikishan  Mukerji,  proposed  the  Hon,  Mr. 

Dadabhai   Naoroji   as   President.     In  a  few  words  he 


THE    SECOND    CONGRESS  17" 

explained  their  wish  for  such  improvements  in 
administration  as  should  keep  pace  with  the  spread 
of  education  and  enlightenment,  saying  that  it  was 
no  wonder  that  their  object  had  drawn  distinguished 
men  "  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  when  you  find 
a  blind  old  man  like  myself  of  79  years  of  age, 
bending  under  the  infirmities  of  age,  taking  a  part 
in  the  deliberations  ".  Most  surely  these  three  men 
above — to  say  nothing  of  the  support  of  the  venerable 
Debendranath  Tagore — dispi'oved  the  slander  that 
the  Congress  was  the  work  of  turbulent  youths  and 
disappointed  place-hunters. 

Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji,  in  some  preliminary  obser- 
vations drew  attention  to  the  refusal  of  the  Grovern- 
ment  to  grant  the  prayer  of  the  first  Congress  for  a 
Royal  Commission  of  enquiry,  but  noted  that  they 
had  agreed  to  giving  a  Council  to  the  N.  W.  P. 
He  laid  stress  on  the  bitter  poverty  of  India,  and 
urged  that  it  was  "  the  right  as  well  as  the  duty  of 
this  Congress  to  set  forth  its  convictions,  both  as  to 
this  widespi-ead  destitution  and  the  primary  steps 
needed  for  its  alleviation  ".  The  first  meeting  was 
closed  by  Babu  Jaikishan,  who  said  that  the  India  of 
1886  was  very  diiferent  from  that  of  1835,  yet  a  Free 
Press  had  then  been  granted  to  India  by  Sir  Charles 
Metcalfe  :  "  Standing  as  I  do,  one  of  the  few  re- 
maining links  between  the  Old  India  of  the  past  and 
the  New  India  of  to-day,  I  can  scarcely  hope  to  see 
or  enjoy  the  fruit  of  those  labours  on  which  this 
Congress  and  the  Nation  it  represents  are  entering  ; 
but  I  am  glad  to  have  lived  to  see  this  new  departure. 


18  HOW   INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

and  if  an  old  man's  sympathy  and  good  wishes  can 
aid  or  encourag-e  you  in  the  noble  work  you  are 
undertaking,  I  can  say  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart 
that  that  sympathy  and  those  good  wishes  are  already 
yours."  Thus  blessed  by  the  aged,  the  Congress 
took  up  its  work. 

The  President,  in  his  opening  address,  made  one 
often-disputed  point  admirably  clear,  and  defined  the 
scope  of  the  Congress.  He  pointed  out  that  the 
Congress  was  a  purely  political  body,  and  while  he 
was  himself  profoundly  alive  to  the  necessity  of  social 
reforms,  he  held  that  the  Congress  should  deal  only 
with  political  matters,  on  which  Indians  were  united, 
and  not  with  other  questions  on  which  they  were 
necessarily  divided,  and  on  which  no  common  action 
was  therefore  possible.  Each  community  had  its  own 
social  needs,  and  those  of  one  were  not  those  of 
another.  But  they  had  common  political  needs,  and 
could  unite  on  a  common  political  platform.  ''  A 
National  Congress  must  confine  itself  to  questions 
in  wliicli  the  entire  Nation  has  a  direct  participation, 
and  it  must  leave  the  adjustment  of  social  reforms 
and  other  class  questions  to  class  Congresses."  The 
National  Movement,  tlie  National  Party,  as  a  whole, 
lias  its  aspects,  religious,  educational,  social,  political, 
and  the  Congress  is  tlie  organ  of  tliat  Movement, 
that  Natimial  Party,  ['or  ])(iliti(al  action,  and  for 
political  action  only.  Tlie  Congress  has  steadily 
continued  on  the  line  thus  early  laid  down. 

As  it  was  impossible  to  carry  on  business  in  the 
huge  'Voww  Hall,  the  Congress  met  on    the  second  day 


THE    SECOND    CONGRESS  19 

in  the  rooms  of  the  British  Indian  Association,  The 
first  Besolution  on  the  Queen-Empress'  Jubilee  was 
carried  with  enthusiasm,  and  then  Mr,  D.  E.  Wacha 
moved  the  second,  drawing  attention  to  the  "  in- 
creasing povei'ty  of  vast  numbers  of  the  population 
of  India  ".  He  pointed  out  that  the  condition  of  the 
ryots  had  steadily  deteriorated  since  1848,  and  that  40 
millions  of  people  had  only  one  meal  a  day,  and  not 
always  that.  He  pointed  to  the  main  cause  "  in  the 
tribute  to  Great  Britain,  exported  to  fructify  there, 
and  swell  still  further  the  unparalleled  wealth  of 
those  distant  isles,  never  in  any  shape  to  return  here 
to  bless  the  country  from  whose  soil  it  was  wrung, 
or  the  people,  the  sweat  of  whose  brows  it  repre- 
sents ",  The  foreign  agency  must  be  minimised, 
otherwise  poverty  could  not  be  relieved.  They  must 
have  representative  institutions  to  ensure  the  reforms 
essential  to  National  prosperity.  The  Hon,  Mr, 
S.  Subramania  Iyer  added  his  testimony  from  Madras, 
saying  it  was  impossible  to  control  "  the  extortions 
of  the  revenue  authorities  ",  Several  amendments 
were  proposed — permanent  settlement,  wider  employ- 
ment of  Indians,  encouragement  of  indigenous  trade, 
as  palliatives — but  all  were  rejected  and  the  original 
resolution  carried. 

The  most  'remarkable  speech  on  the  third  resolu- 
tion was  that  of  Malik  Bhagavan  Das,  from  Dehra 
Ismail  Khan,  who,  speaking  in  Urdu,  said  he  came 
"  from  a  land  where  men  handle  the  sword  more 
readily  than  the  pen  " ;  some  said  that  the  only 
people    who    wanted    changes    were  Bengali    Babus ; 


20  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

"  Do     I     look    like     a    Bengali    Babu  ?  "    he    asked, 

drawing  up  his  great  frame  in  his  frontier  dress.     All 

the  more   intelligent   persons   wanted   them,  he  said. 

After    recounting  some    special   cases  of  able  men  in 

his  own  district,  he  concluded  : 

There  is  not  a  district,  not  a  town,  that  does  not 
contain  many  such  or  better  men  ;  and  do  you  suppose 
that  any  of  them  are  greatly  pleased  with  a  form  of 
administration  which  denies,  to  ninety-nine  out  of  every 
hundred  of  them,  any  career  ?  or  that  any  of  them  fail  to 
see  that  representative  institutions,  and  a  much  larger 
employment  of  Indians  in  the  higher  offices  of  State, 
would  be  important  steps  towards  the  opening  they  want  ? 
I  will  not  detain  you  longer.  I  will  only  repeat  that  this 
Congress  and  the  objects  it  aims  at  have  the  sympathy 
of  every  thinking  man  in  India,  be  he  educated  or  un- 
educated ;  and  though  the  newspapers  may  misunderstand 
the  subject,  I  think  the  Government  knows  better,  and 
as,  despite  mistakes  that  it  makes,  the  Government  is  a 
generous  Government,  I  hope,  and  think  too,  that,  coming 
to  realise  how  universal  is  the  feeling,  it  will  yield  to  our 
desire,  and  concede,  if  not  at  once,  yet  piece  by  piece,  all 
we  ask  for.  If  I  speak  plainh'  it,  is  not  that  I  am  opposed 
to  British  rule — far  from  it  ;  that  rule  has  no  more 
earnest  supporter  than  myself.  But  good  as  it  is,  there 
are  many  things  yet  that  should  be  improved,  and 
amongst  them  the  matters  dealt  with  by  this  Congress. 
And  while  I  say  :  May  God  prosper  Bi-itisli  rule  in  India 
for  ever,  I  also  say  :  May  He  give  our  rulers  wisdom  to 
understand  the  reasonableness  of  our  demands  for  reform, 
and  the  magnanimity  to  concede  what  we  ask  for. 

The  resolution  was  unanimously   carried.     The  rest 

of  the  time  was  spent    in  discussing    the  draft   of  the 

fourth    resolution,    making    many    amendments,    and 

finally,    by  Resolution  VT,  appointing  a  Committee  to 

consider   and   report  on   the  Public  Service  question, 

(All  the  Resolutions  will  Ije  found  on  page  29,  et  i^eq.) 


THE    SECOND    CONGRESS 


21 


On  the  third  day,  December  29th,  the  Congress — 
meeting  again  in  the  Town  Hall — Resolution  VIII, 
asking  for  the  extension  of  the  jury  system  was, 
after  some  discussion,  carried  unanimously ;  in  the 
course  of  it,  one  delegate,  Lala  Murlidhar,  from 
the  Panjab,  said  that  he  came  to  the  Congress 
from  gaol,  released  on  bail,  convicted  without 
evidence  "  because  I  am  considered  a  political  agitator, 
because  I  have  my  own  opinions  and  speak  what  I 
think  without  fear,"  and  the  protection  of  the  jury 
was  necessary  against  such  abuses. 

Government  is  always  angry,  as  we  know,  when 
defects  in  the  "  administration  of  justice  ^'  are  pointed 
out;  but  far  more  harm  is  done  to  it  by  the  loud  and 
prolonged  cheers  with  which  this  eminently  respect- 
able assemblage  of  1886  greeted  this  "convicted" 
prisoner  out  on  bail,  than  by  the  criticisms  which 
should  lead  the  GTovernment  to  amend  the  matters 
complained  of. 

This  Resolution  was  completed  by  No.  IX,  carried  a 
little  later,  urging  that  the  "innovation  made  in 
1872,"  which  deprived  the  verdicts  of  juries  of 
finality,  and  "  for  the  first  time  "  gave  power  to  set 
aside  verdicts  of  acquittal,  "should  be  at  once  with- 
drawn ".  Some  opposed  it,  on  the  ground  that  English- 
men were  sc/metimes  wrongfully  acquitted  by  juries 
of  their  countrymen,  but  a  large  majority,  despite 
this  temporary  inconvenience,  carried  the  right 
principle.  The  abuse,  however,  still  continues  and 
has  been  terribly  used,  as  in  the  hands  of  Sir  John 
Hewett. 


22  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Resolution  X,  carried  while  the  preceding  one  was 
being  drafted,  sought  to  give  accused  persons  the 
right  of  demanding  a  committal  to  Sessions  instead  of 
being  tried  liy  Magistrates.  It  was  pointed  out  that 
first-class  Magistrates,  "  often  quite  young  and  inex- 
perienced," could  give  a  sentence  of  two  years' 
imprisonment  and  a  fine  of  Rs,  1,000,  and  that 
if  the  Government  desired  "  to  maintain  the  character 
of  their  Courts  for  justice,"  they  must  give  the 
option  of  a  trial  at  Sessions.  Complaint  was  made 
that  some  of  the  Magistrates  were  "  devoid  of  that 
conscientiousness  that  in  former  days  was  the  charac- 
teristic of  British  officers  ".  The  truth  is  that  the 
Courts  do  justice  in  ordinary  cases  as  between  Indian 
and  Indian,  but,  since  political  agitation  has  arisen, 
British  officials,  like  those  of  every  autocracy,  have  a 
bias  against  every  one  who  advocates  political  changes, 
and  such  men — as  in  the  case  of  Lala  Murlidhar — are 
discriminated  against,  consciously  or  unconsciously ; 
hence,  as  Mr.  T.  Chidainbara  Rao  pointed  out,  and 
as  all  of  us  knoAv,  our  liberties  remain  at  the  mercy  of 
magistrates  "  often  far  from  competent,  from  a  legal 
point  of  view,  to  exercise  such  great  powers  ".  The 
next  Resolution,  still  legal,  demanded  the  separation 
of  judicial  and  executive  functions. 

Then  caine  a  Resolution  (XII)  of  vital  importance, 
where  lii(]i;m  foresight  far  outstripped  British — a 
l?esoluti<i)i  iippealing  to  Government  to  sanction 
volunteering,  so  that  Indians  might  be  able  to  support 
tlieni  in  any  crisis.  It  was  moved  by  Raja  Rampal 
Singh   in  a   most  remarkable  speech,  a  speech  which 


THE    SECOND    CONGRESS  23 

showed  that  in  him,  at  least,  the  old  martial  spirit  was 
not  dead.  He  began  by  saying  that  the  loyal  and 
conciliatory  spirit  of  the  Congress  should  protect  them 
from  blame  when  they  spoke  on  a.  matter  on  which 
they  were  "  distinctly  at  variance  with  Government  ". 
The  whole  country  had  petitioned  Grovernment  on  the 
matter  and  had  been  refused,  "  not  over-graciously  "; 
none  the  less  must  they  press  it,  as  "  the  highest 
interests  of  Great  Britain  as  well  as  India "  were 
concerned  : 

We  are  deeply  grateful  to  Government  for  all  the 
good  that  it  has  done  us,  but  we  cannot  be  grateful 
to  it    when   it   is,  no  matter  with  what  best  of  intentions, 

doing  us  a  terriljle  and  irreparable  injury We 

cannot  be  grateful  to  it  for  degrading  our  natures,  for 
systematically  crushing  out  of  us  all  martial  spirit,  for 
converting  a  race  of  soldiers  and  heroes  into  a  timid  flock 
of  quill-driving  sheep.  Thank  God,  things  have  not  yet 
gone  quite  so  far  as  this.  There  are  some  of  us  yet, 
everywhere,  who  would  be  willing  to  draw  sword,  and  if 
needful  lay  down  our  lives,  for  hearth  and  homes,  aye  and 
for  the  support  and  maintenance  of  that  Government  to 
which  we  owe  so  much.  But  this  is  what  we  are  coming 
to  ...  .  and  when  we  once  come  to  that,  then  I  think  that, 
despite  the  glories  of  the  Pax  Britannica,  despite  the 
noble  intentions  of  Great  Britain,  despite  all  the  good  she 
may  have  done  or  tried  to  do  us,  the  balance  will  be 
against  her,  and  India  will  have  to  regret  rather  than 
rejoice  that  she  has  ever  had  anything  to  do  with 
England.  » 

This  may  be  strong  language,  but  it  is  the  truth ; 
nothing  can  ever  make  amends  to  a  Nation  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  its  National  spirit,  and  of  the  capacity  to  defend 
itself  and  the  soil  from  which  it  springs. 

Nor  is  it  only  we  who  shall  have  to  regret  and  sufPer 
for  the  mistaken  policy  that  our  Government  is  unhappily 


24  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

pursuing  in  this  matter.  Look  where  you  will  around  you 
in  the  world,  and  you  will  see  gigantic  armies  and 
armaments.  There  is  trouble  in  store  for  the  whole 
civilised  world,  and  sooner  or  later  a  tremendous  military 
struggle  will  commence,  in  which,  assuredly,  before  it 
terminates.  Great  Britain  will  be  involved.  Great  Britain 
with  all  her  wealth  cannot  put  one  hundred  men  into  the 
field  for  every  thousand  that  several  Continental  Powers 
can.  England  herself  is  isolated,  and  by  her  insular 
position  to  a  certain  extent  protected,  but  no  friendly  sea 
rolls  between  Europe  and  Asia,  the  landward  path  to 
India  is  known  and  open ;  India  is  not  isolated,  and  it 
will  be  India,  on  whose  possession  half  Great  Britain's 
wealth  and  status  depends,  that  will  be  the  scene  of  any 
serious  attack  by  any  Continental  Powers  on  Great 
Britain. 

Then  will  England  regret  that,  instead  of  having 
millions  of  brave  Indians  trained  to  arms  to  fling  back 
invaders,  she  has  only  her  scanty  legions  to  oppose  to 
them,  and  from  her  timid  subjects  can  only  look  at  most 
for  good  wislies — good  wishes,  truly  good  things  in  their 
way,  but  poor  bulwarks  against  Berdan  rifles  and  steel 
ordnance. 

But  on  our  own  account  we  deprecate  the  existing 
policy.  High  and  low  we  are  losing  all  knowledge  of  the 
use  of  arms,  and  with  this  that  spirit  of  self-reliance 
whicli  enables  a  man  to  dare,  which  makes  men  brave, 
whicli  inakes  tliem  worthy  of  tlie  name  of  men.  When  1 
was  oidy  five  years  of  age  my  grandfather  made  me  begin 
to  learn  all  physical  exercises  in  vogue  amongst  us,  and  I 
was  trained  to  the  use  of  all  arms  and  in  all  martial 
exercises.  But  what  man  now  sends  his  son  for  such 
training  P  What  young  man  nowadays  knows  anything 
of  these  things  ?  Eifty  years  ago,  without  desiring  war- 
fare, every  young  man's  heart  glowed  within  him  at  the 
thought  of  some  day  showing  his  prowess  in  a  fair  fleld. 
Now  most  young  men  would,  I  fear,  contemplate  an}-  such 
possible  contingency  with  very,  let  me  say,  mixed  feelings. 
If  men  are  to  be  flt  for  soldiers,  fit  to  fight  to  any  purpose 
when  till'  tim(!  of  ti-ial  comes,   and  come  it  must  for  every 


THE    SECOND    CONGRESS  25 

country,  then  they  must  be  trained  in  the  use  of  arms, 
they  must  from  their  childhood  see  their  parents,  their 
elders,  using  arms  and  participating  in  those  martial 
exercises  which  onlj"  35  years  ago,  in  Oudh  at  least,  were 
part  of  every  gentleman's  occupation. 

And  there  is  another  very  important  point — India  is 
practically  being  impoverished,  to  a  great  extent, 
by  the  enormous  expense  of  her  standing  army. 
Sooner  or  later  the  crushing  weight  of  this  (for 
her  resources)  enormous  expenditure  will  break  down 
either  the  country  or  the  Government.  Now  by  a  judi- 
cious encouragement  of  Indian  Volunteers,  it  would  be 
possible  to  reduce  very  greatly  this  military  expenditure, 
and  yet  leave  the  country  far  stronger  for  defensive 
purposes  than  it  now  is. 

But  I  might  go  on  for  hours.  I  might  dwell  on  the 
fact  that  in  the  way  the  Arms  Act  is  now  worked  in  many 
localities,  the  people,  their  herds,  their  crops,  are  wholly 
at  the  mercy  of  wild  beasts.  I  might  dwell  on  the  insult, 
the  injustice,  the  violation  of  the  most  sacred  and  solemn 
pledges  by  England  to  India,  that  are  involved  in  the 
rules  that  permit  Indian  Christians,  but  do  not  permit 
Indian  Hindus  or  Muhammadans,  to  volunteer.  But  I 
have  said  enough,  and  indeed  being,  as  we  are,  all  of  one 
mind,  too  much  already  I  fear  on  this  subject,  in  which  I 
am  deeply  interested.  1  will  only  now  add  that  we  do  not 
ask  Government  to  put  arms  blindly  into  all  men's  hands, 
but  only  to  permit  under  such  rules  and  restrictions  as  it 
sees  fit,  the  better  and  more  educated  classes  of  its  loyal 
Indian  subjects  to  qualify  themselves  to  defend,  when 
occasion  may  require,  their  homes,  their  country  and  their 
Government. 

Needless  to  say  that  the  resolution  was  carried,  and 
yet,  29  years  later,  the  Arms  Act  is  still  on  the  Statute 
Book,  and  only  Indian  Christians  are  permitted  to 
volunteer.  None  the  less,  the  feelings  expressed  so 
passionately  by  Raja  Rampal  Singh  throb  as  passion- 
ately in  the  hearts  of  all  Indian  gentlemen  to-day. 

3 


26  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOE    FREEDOM 

The  fourth  and  last  day  of  the  Congress  dealt  with 
the  all-important  subject  of  representative  institu- 
tions. Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  brought  up  the 
Report  of  the  Committee  appointed  to  consider  the 
Public  Service  Question,  and  it  was  unanimously 
approved  by  Resolution  VII.  He  then  moved  Re- 
solution IV,  and  the  tentative  suggestions  embodied 
in  it,  urging  : 

Self- Government  is  the  ordering  of  nature,  the  will 
of  Divine  Providence.  Every  Nation  must  be  the  arbiter 
of  its  own  destinies — such  is  the  omnipotent  fiat  inscribed 
by  Nature  with  her  own  hands  and  in  her  own  eternal 
book.  But  do  we  govern  ourselves  P  The  answer  is  no. 
Are  we  then  living  in  an  unnatural  state  ?  Yes,  in  the 
same  state  in  which  the  patient  lives  under  the  ministra- 
tions of  the  physician.  We  are  passing  through  a  period 
of  probation  and  a  period  of  trial  under  the  auspices  of 
one  of  the  most  freedom-loving  Nations  in  the  world.  And 
we  claim  that  the  period  of  probation  may  now  fairly 
terminate,  that  the  leading-strings  may  be  taken  off,  and 
the  child,  having  emerged  into  the  dawn  of  mature  man- 
hood, may  at  any  rate  be  partially  entrusted  with  the 
management  of  his  own  affairs.  If  it  were  otherwise,  the 
circumstance  would  imply  the  gi'avest  slur  upon  the 
character  of  British  rule  in  India  ;  for  it  would  mean  that 
after  more  than  a  century  of  Bintish  rule  and  of  English 
education,  we  are  still  unfit  to  appreciate  the  principles 
and  to  practise  the  art  of  Self-Government.  But  I  liave 
no  fears  on  this  score.  In  our  own  Province,  local  self- 
goverimient  lias  been  remarkabl}'  successfVil.  We  have  it 
on  the  highest  autliority  ;  for  no  less  a  personage  than 
His  Honour  tlie  Lieutenant-Governor  has  declared  that  in 
Bengal  local  self-gcjvernment  has  on  the  whole  been  a 
success ;  and  I  am  quite  sure  similar  testimony  would  be 
forthcoming  in  reference  to  the  otlier  Provinces  of  India. 
It  would  indeed  l)c'  a  marvel  if  it  were  otherwise.  Our 
Panchayat  system   is  as  old  as  the  hills  and  is  graven  on 


THE    SECOND    CONGRESS 


27 


the  hearts  and  the  instincts  of  the  people.  Self- Govern- 
ment is  therefore  nothing  new  to  the  habits  or  the  ways 
of  thought  of  the  people  of  India. 

The  motion  was  seconded  by  Mr.  N.  G.  Chandayar- 
kar  in  a  powerful  speech,  in  which  he  showed,  by 
quotations,  that  the  great  Englishmen  who  had 
ruled  in  India  had  contemplated  Self-Government. 
Other  speeches  followed — they  all  deserve  reading, 
so  good  were  they — and  then  came  Pandit  Madan 
Mohan  Malaviya,  making  his  maiden  speech  in  the 
Congress,  and  fairly  carrying  his  audience  away  with 
the  eloquence  which  has  ever  since  been  at  India's 
service.     One  quotation  we  must  have  : 

It  is  not  to  the  great  British  Government  that  we 
need  demonstrate  the  utility,  the  expediency,  the  neces- 
sity of  this  great  reform.  It  might  have  been  necessary 
to  support  our  petition  for  this  boon  with  such  a  demon- 
stration, were  we  governed  by  some  despotic  monarch, 
jealous  of  the  duties,  but  ignorant  and  careless  of  the 
rights  of  subjects  ;  but  it  is  surely  unnecessary  to  say  one 
word  in  support  of  such  a  cause  to  the  British  Govern- 
ment or  the  British  Nation — to  the  descendants  of  those 
brave  and  great  men  who  fought  and  died  to  obtain  for 
themselves  and  preserve  intact  for  their  children  those 
very  institutions  which,  taught  by  their  example,  we  now 
crave,  who  spent  their  whole  lives  and  shed  their  hearts' 
blood     so     freely     in    maintaining    and    developing    this 

cherished  principle. 
'» 

What     is     an     Englishman    without    representative 

institutions  ?      Why,    not    an    Englishman    at  all,  a  mere 

sham,    a    base    imitation,    and    I    often    wonder  as  I  look 

round  at  our  nominally  English  magnates,  how  they  have 

the    face    to   call  themselves  Englishmen  and  yet  deny  us 

representative     institutions,     and     struggle    to    maintain 

despotic  ones.      Representative  institutions  are  as  much  a 

part  of  the  true  Briton  as  his  language  and  his  literature. 


28  HOW    INDIA   WKODGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Will  any  one  tell  me  that  Great  Britain  will,  in  cold 
blood,  deny  us,  her  free-born  subjects,  the  first  of  these, 
when,  by  the  gift  of'  the  latter,  she  has  qualified  us  to 
appreciate  and  incited  us  to  desire  it  P 

No  taxation  without  representation.  That  is  the  first 
commandment  in  the  Englishman's  Political  Bible  ;  how 
can  he  palter  with  his  conscience  and  tax  us  here,  his 
free  and  educated  fellow-subjects,  as  if  we  were  dumb 
sheep  or  cattle  ?  But  we  are  not  dumb  any  longer. 
India  has  found  a  voice  at  last  in  this  great  Congress, 
and  in  it,  and  through  it,  we  call  on  England  to  be  true 
to  her  traditions,  her  instincts,  and  herself,  and  grant  us 
our  rights  as  free-born  British  citizens. 

The   resolution  was,  of  course,  carried  unanimously. 

Resolution  V  was  next  brought  on,  as  lielping  to 
give  effect  to  the  all-imjDortant  Resolution  IV,  and 
was  quickly  carried. 

Resolutions  XV,  XIII,  XIV  Avere  then  passed  in  the 
order  given,  to  send  the  resolutions  to  the  Viceroy,  to 
be  forwarded  by  him  to  the  Queen-Empress  and  the 
Secretary  of  State  ;  to  establish  Standing  Congress- 
Committees  ;  and  to  hold  the  next  Congress  in 
Madras,  This  memorable  sitting  then  closed  with  a 
vote  of  thanks  to  the  President. 

The  Statesman  (Calcutta)  had  a  remarkable  article 
on  the  Congress,  saying  that  the  Congress  was 
composed  of  "  men  to  whom  we  can  poiftt  with  pride, 
as  the  outcome  of  a  century  of  our  rule  ".  The 
London  Times,  on  the  other  hand,  burst  into  violent 
invective,  declaring  that  the  Congress — our  readers 
can  judge  of  the  truth  of  tlu>  statement — was 
"  merely  an  affair  of  discontented  place-seekers — men 
of  straw,  with  little  or   no  stake   in  the  country.  .  .  . 


THE    SECOND    CONGRESS  29 

persons  of  considerable  imitative  powers  ...  of 
total  ignorance  of  the  real  problems  of  Government 
.  .  .  delegates  from  all  these  talking  clubs  .  .  . 
might  become  a  serious  danger  to  public  tranquillity  ". 
Virulent  rubbish,  which  did  its  mischievous  work  in 
Great  Britain. 

The  Viceroy,  Lord  Dufferin,  received  some  of  the 
members,  not  as  delegates  but  as  "  distinguished 
visitors  to  the  capital  "  !  He  also  invited  them  to  a 
garden  party,  carefully  explaining  that  he  did  not  ask 
them  as  representatives.  Unconsciously  humorous 
was  His  Excellency.  But  he  doubtless  meant  well.  In 
any  case,  the  representative  character  of  the  Congress 
was  recognised  by  India,  if  not  by  this  amiable 
gentleman, 

RESOLUTIONS 

I.  That  this  Congress  of  Delegates  from  all  parts  of  India  do 
humbly  offer  its  dutiful  and  loyal  congratulations  to  Her  Most 
Gracious  Majesty,  the  Queen  Empress,  on  the  approaching 
completion  of  the  first  half  century  of  her  memorable,  beneficent 
and  glorious  reign,  and  heartily  wish  her  many,  many  more,  and 
happy,  years  of  rule  over  the  great  British  Empire. 

Representation 

II.  That  this  Congress  regards  with  the  deepest  sympathy,  and 
views  with  grave  apprehension,  the  increasing  poverty  of  vast 
numbers  of  the  population  of  India,  and  (although  aware  that  the 
Government  is  hot  overlooking  this  matter  and  is  contemplating 
certain  palliatives)  desires  to  record  its  fixed  conviction  that  the 
introduction  of  Representative  Institutions  will  prove  one  of  the 
most  important  practical  steps  towards  the  amelioration  of  the 
condition  of  the  people. 

III.  That  this  Congress  do,  emphatically,  reaffirm  the  3rd 
Resolution  of  the  Congress  of  1885,  and  distinctly  declare  its  belief 
that  the  reform  and  expansion  of  the  Council  of  the  Govemor- 
General  for  making  Laws  and  of  the  Provincial  Legislative  Councils 


30  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

thei-ein   suggested,   have  now  become  essential  alike  in  the  interest, 
of  India  and  England. 

IV.  That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  in  giving  practical 
effect  to  this  essential  reform,  regard  should  be  had  (subject  to  such 
modifications  as,  on  a  more  detailed  examination  of  the  question, 
may  commend  themselves  to  the  Government)  to  the  principles 
embodied  in  the  following  tentative  suggestions  : 

(1)  The  number  of  persons  composing  the  Legislative 
Councils,  both  Provincial  and  of  the  Governor-General,  to  be 
materially  increased.  Not  less  than  one-half  the  Members  of  such 
enlarged  Coiincils  to  be  elected.  Not  more  than  one-fourth  to  be 
officials  having  seats  e.v-officio  in  such  Councils,  and  not  more  than 
one-fourth  to  be  Members,  official  or  non-official,  nominated  by 
Government. 

(2)  The  right  to  elect  members  to  the  Provincial  Councils 
to  be  conferred  only  on  those  classes  and  members  of  the 
community,  prima  facie,  capable  of  exercising  it  M'isely  and 
independently.  In  Bengal  and  Bombay  the  Councillors  may  be 
elected  by  the  members  of  Municipalities,  District  Boards,  Chambers 
of  Commerce  and  the  Universities,  or  an  electorate  may  be  con- 
stituted of  all  persons  possessing  such  qualifications,  educational 
and  pecuniary,  as  may  be  deemed  necessary.  In  Madras,  the 
Councillors  may  be  elected  either  by  District  Boards,  Municipalities, 
Chambers  of  Commerce  and  the  University,  or  by  Electoral  colleges 
composed  of  members  partly  elected  by  these  bodies  and  partly 
nominated  by  Government.  In  the  North-West  Provinces  and 
Oudh  and  in  the  Panjab,  Councillors  may  be  elected  by  an  Electoral 
College  composed  of  members  elected  by  Municipal  and  District 
Boards  and  nominated,  to  an  extent  not  exceeding  one-sixth  of  the 
total  number,  by  Government,  it  being  understood  that  the  same 
elective  system  now  in  force  where  Municipal  Boards  are  concerned 
will  be  applied  to  District  Boards,  and  the  right  of  electing  members 
to  these  latter  extended  to  the  cultivating  class.  But  whatever 
system  be  adopted  (and  the  details  must  be  worked  out  sejDarately 
for  each  province)  care  must  be  taken  that  all  sections  of  the 
community,  and  ail  great  interests,  are  adequately  represented. 

(3)  The  elected  Members  of  the  Council  of  the  Governor- 
General  for  making  Laws,  to  be  elected  by  the  effected  Members  of 
the  several  Provincial  Councils. 

(4)  No  elected  or  nominated  Member  of  any  Council,  to 
receive  any  salary  or  remuneration  in  virtue  of  such  membership 
but  any  such  Member,  already  in  receipt  of  any  Government  salary 
or  allowance,  to  continue  to  draw  the  same  unchanged  during 
membership,  and  all  Members  to  be  entitled  to  be  reimbursed 
any  expenses  incurred  in  travelling  in  connection  with  their 
membership. 


The  second  congress  31 

(5)  All  persons,  resident  in  India,  to  be  eligible  for  seats 
in  Council,  whether  as  electees  or  nominees,  without  distinction  of 
race,  creed,  caste  or  colour. 

(6)  All  legislative  measures  and  all  financial  questions, 
including  all  budgets,  whether  these  involve  new  or  enhanced 
taxation  or  not,  to  be  necessarily  submitted  to  and  dealt  with  by 
these  Councils.  In  the  case  of  all  other  branches  of  the  administra- 
tion, any  Member  to  be  at  liberty,  after  due  notice,  to  put  any 
question  he  sees  fit  to  the  er-officio  Members  (or  such  one  of 
these  as  may  be  specially  charged  with  the  supervision  of  the 
particular  branch  concerned)  and  to  be  entitled  (except  as 
hereinafter  provided)  to  receive  a  reply  to  his  question,  together 
with  copies  of  any  papers  requisite  for  the  thorough  comprehension* 
of  the  subject,  and  on  this  reply  the  Council  to  be  at  liberty  to 
consider  and  discuss  the  question  and  X'ecord  thereon  such  resolution 
as  may  appear  fitting  to  the  majority.  Provided  that,  if  the  sub- 
ject in  regard  to  which  the  enquiry  is  made  involves  matters  of 
Foreign  policy,  Military  dispositions  or  strategj-,  or  is  otherwise  of 
such  a  nature  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Executive,  the  public 
interests  would  be  materially  imperilled  by  the  communication  of 
the  information  asked  for,  it  shall  be  competent  for  them  to  instruct 
the  e.r. officio  Members,  or  one  of  them,  to  reply  accordingly,  and 
decline  to  furnish  the  information  asked  for. 

(7)  The  Executive  Government  shall  possess  the  power  of 
overruling  the  decision  arrived  at  by  the  majority  of  the  Council, 
in  every  case  in  which,  in  its  opinion,  the  public  interests  would 
suffer  by  the  acceptance  of  such  decision  ;  but  whenever  this  power 
is  exercised,  a  full  exposition  of  the  grounds  on  which  this  has  been 
considered  necessary,  shall  be  published  within  one  month,  and  in 
the  case  of  local  Governments  they  shall  report  the  circumstances 
and  explain  their  action  to  the  Government  of  India,  and  in  the 
case  of  this  latter,  it  shall  report  and  explain  to  the  Secretary  of 
State  ;  and  in  any  such  case  on  a  representation  made  through  the 
Government  of  India  and  the  Secretary  of  State  by  the  overruled 
majority,  it  shall  be  competent  to  the  Standing  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons  (recommended  in  the  3rd  Resolution  of  last 
year's  Congress  which  this  present  Congress  has  affirmed)  to  con- 
sider the  matter,  and  call  for  any  and  all  papers  or  information,  and 
hear  any  persoss  on  behalf  of  such  majority  or  otherwise,  and 
thereafter,  if  needful,  report  thereon  to  the  full  House. 

V.  That  this  Congress  do  invite  all  Public  Bodies  and  all 
Associations  throughout  the  Country,  humbly  and  earnestly,  to 
entreat  His  Excellencj-  the  Viceroy  to  obtain  the  sanction  of  Her 
Majesty's  Secretary  of  State  for  India  to  the  appointment  of  a 
Commission,  to  enquire  exhaustively  into  the  best  method  of  intro- 
ducing such  a  tentative  form  of  Representative  Institutions  into 
India,  as  has  been  indicated  in  Resolutions  III  of  the  past,  and  IV 
of  the  present  year's  Congress. 


32  HOW   INDIA   WROUGHT   FOR    FREEDOM 

Public  Servioe 

VI.  That  a  Committee  composed  of  the  gentlemen  named  in 
the  margin  be  appointed  to  consider  the  Public  Service  Question 
and  report  thereon  to  this  Congress. 

Hon.  Dadabhai  Naoroji  (Bombaj^). 

„     S.  Subramania  Iyer  (Madras). 

„     Peary  Mohan  Mukei-ji  (Calcutta). 
Mr.  G.  Subramania  Iyer  (Madras). 
Babu  Motilal  Ghose  (Calcutta). 

„      Surendra  Nath  Bannerji  (Calcutta). 

„      Gangaprasad  Varma  (Lucknow). 

„      Ramkali  Chaudhuri  (Benares). 

„      Guru  Prasad  Sen  (Patna). 
Pandit  Prannath  (Lucknow). 
Munshi  Kashiprasad  (Allahabad). 
Nawab  Reza  Ali  Khan  (Lucknow). 
Mr.  Hamid  Ali  (Lucknow). 
Lala  Kanyalal  (Amritsar). 

Rao  Sahab  Gangadhar  Rao  Madhaw  Chitnavis  (Nagpur). 
Mr.  Rahimtulla  M.  Sayani  (Bombay). 

VII.  That  this  Congress  approves  and  adopts  the  report  sub- 
mitted by  the  Committee  ajipointed  by  Resolution  VI. 

REPORT 

We,  the  Members  of  the  Committee  appointed  by  the  Con- 
gress to  submit  a  statement  in  connection  with  the  Public  Service 
question,  have  the  honour  to  report  that  the  following  resolutions 
were  unanimously  adopted  by  us  at  a  meeting  held  yesterday  : 

1.  That  the  open  Competitive  Examination  be  held  simul- 
taneously both  in  India  and  in  England. 

2.  That  the  simultaneous  examinations  thus  held  be  equally 
open  to  all  classes  of  Her  Majesty's  subjects. 

;{.     That  the  classified  list  be  prepared  according  to  merit. 

0 

■I.  That  the  Congress  express  the  hope  that  the  Civil  Service 
Commissioners  will  giv(!  fair  consideration  to  Samskrit  and  Arabic 
among  the  subjects  of  examination. 

5.  That  the  age  of  candidates  eligible  for  admission  to  the 
open  Competitive  Examination  be  not  less  than  19,  or,  as  recom- 
mended by  Sir  C.  Aitchison,  more  than  23  years. 

6.  That  simultaneous  examinations  being  granted,  the 
Statutory  Civil  Service  be  closed  for  first  appointments. 


THE    SECOND    CONGRESS  33 

7.  That  the  appointments  in  the  Statutory  Civil  Service, 
under  the  existing  rules,  be  still  left  open  to  the  Members  of  the 
Uncovenanted  Service  and  to  professional  men  of  proved  merit  and 
ability. 

8.  That  all  appointments  requiring  educational  qualifications, 
other  than  covenanted  first  appointments,  be  filled  by  Competitive 
Examinations  held  in  the  different  Provinces,  and  open  in  each 
Province  to  such  natiu'al-born  subjects  of  H.M.  only  as  are  residents 
thereof. 

These  Resolutions  it  is  hoped,  cover  the  main  principles  which 
underlie  the  questions  set  by  the  Public  Service  Commission.  For 
a  more  detailed  consideration  there  was  no  time. 

(Sd).     Dadabiiai  Naoroji, 
30th  December,  1886  President  of  the  Committee 

Legal 


VIII.  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  the  time  has  now 
arrived  when  the  system  of  trial  by  jury  may  be  safely  extended 
into  many   parts  of  the  Country  where  it  is  not  at  present  in  force. 

IX.  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  the  innovation  made 
in  1872  in  the  system  of  trial  by  jury,  depriving  the  verdicts  of 
juries  of  all  finality,  has  proved  injurious  to  the  Country,  and  that 
the  powers  then,  for  the  first  time,  vested  in  Sessions  Judges  and 
High  Courts,  of  setting  aside  verdicts  of  acquittal,  should  be  at  once 
withdrawn. 

X.  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  a  provision,  similar  to 
that  contained  in  the  Summary  Jurisdiction  Act  of  England  (under 
which  accused  persons  in  serious  cases  have  the  option  of  demand- 
ing a  committal  to  the  Sessions  Court),  should  be  introduced  into 
the  Indian  Cod^  of  Criminal  Procedure,  enabling  accused  persons, 
in  warrant  cases,  to  demand  that,  instead  of  being  tried  by  the 
Magistrate,  they  be  committed  to  the  Court  of  Sessions. 

XI.  That  this  Congress  do  place  on  record  an  expression  of  the 
universal  conviction,  that  a  complete  separation  of  executive  and 
judicial  functions  (such  that  in  no  case  the  two  functions  shall  be 
combined  in  the  same  officer)  has  become  an  urgent  necessity,  and 
that,  in  its  opinion,  it  behoves  the  Government  to  effect  this  separa- 
tion without  further  delay,  even  though  this  should,  in  some 
Provinces,  involve  some  extra  expenditure. 


34  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Volunteering 

XII.  That  in  view  of  the  unsettled  state  of  public  affairs  in 
Europe,  and  the  immense  assistance  that  the  people  of  this  country, 
if  duly  prepared  therefor,  is  capable  of  rendering  to  Great  Britain 
in  the  event  of  any  serious  complications  arising,  this  Congress  do 
earnestly  apjieal  to  the  Government  to  authorise  (under  such  rules 
and  restrictions  as  may  to  it  seem  htting)  a  system  of  Volunteering 
for  the  Indian  inhabitants  of  the  country,  such  as  may  qualify  them 
to  support  the  Government,  effectively,  in  any  crisis. 

Organisation 

XIII.  That  Standing  Congress-Committees  be  constituted  at 
all  important  centres. 

XIV.  That  the  Third  Indian  National  Congress  assemble  at 
Madras  on  the  27th  of  December  1887. 

XV.  That  copies  of  these  Resolutions  be  forwarded  to  His 
Excellency  the  Viceroy  in  Council,  with  the  humble  requests,  that 
he  will  cause  the  1st  Resolution  to  be  submitted  in  due  course  to 
Her  Majesty  the  Queen  Empress,  that  he  will  cause  all  the  Resolu- 
tions to  be  laid  befoi'e  Her  Majesty's  Secretary  of  State  for  India, 
and  that  he  himself  will  be  graciously  pleased,  in  consultation  with 
his  colleagues,  to  accord  them  his  best  consideration. 

(Sd.)  Dadabhai  Naoroji, 
President  of  the  Second  Indian  National  Congress 


CHAPTER    III 

The  spirit  of.  the  third  National  Congress  is  shown 
by  the  heading  of  the  official  Report,  taken  from 
the  speech  of  Raja  Sir  T.  Madhava  Rao,  K.  C.  S.  1., 
the  Chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee,  who, 
speaking  of  the  Congress,  declared  that  it  was 
"  the  soundest  triumph  of  British  Administration, 
and  a  Crown  of  Glory  to  the  British  Nation  ".  The 
words  recall  those  of  Macaulay,  when  he  said  that 
the  noblest  monument  of  British  Rule  in  India  would 
be  the  establishment  of  Britain's  free  institutions  in 
the  land. 

The  third  Congress  met  at  Madras  in  December, 
1887.  As  early  as  May  1st,  1887,  a  strong  Recep- 
tion Committee  of  some  120  members  was  formed, 
with  Raja  Sir  T.  Madhava  Rao  as  Chairman,  and 
embracing  Hindus  of  all  castes,  Muhammadans, 
Indian  Christians  and  Eurasians,  a  thoroughly  re- 
presentative body.  Every  town  of  over  10,000  in- 
habitants was  asked  to  form  a  sub-committee,  and 
a  vigorous  political  propaganda  was  carried  on, 
30,000  copies  of  a  Tamil  Congress  Catechism,  by  Mr, 
Viraraghavachariar,  being  distributed,  A  striking 
proof  of  the  result  of  this  was  the  fact  that  Rs,  5,500 
were  contributed  by  8,000  subscriptions  varying  from 


36 


HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


anna  one  to  Rs,  1-8^  and  another  Rs,  8,000  varying 
from  Rs.  1-8  to  Rs.  30.  Poor  people  even  sent 
collections  from  Mandalay,  Rangoon,  Singapore  and 
the  eastern  islands.  It  is  pleasant  to  see  the  names 
of  the  Ruling  Princes  of  Mysore,  Travancore  and 
Cochin,  and  Their  Highnesses  the  Maharaja  of  Vizia- 
nagaram  and  the  Raja  of  Yenkatagiri  at  one  end  of  the 
subscribers,  with  one-anna  coolies  at  the  other — a 
truly  National  work.  The  Standing  Congress  Com- 
mittees were  asked  to  send  up  subjects  for  discussion, 
and  the  energetic  Committee,  greatly  daring,  set  up 
a  huge  Pandal,  capable  of  holding  3,000  persons. 

760    delegates    had    been    elected,    and    607    were 
actually  present.     The  table 

Madras 

Bombay  and  Sindh 

Bengal,  Orissa  and  Assam 

N.  W.  P.  and  Oudh    ... 

Central  Provinces 

Pan  jab 


The  Pan  jab  had  elected  42  delegates,  though  only 
9  appeared.  From  -the  Panjab  to  Madras  is  a  far 
cry.  A  good  feature  was  the  presence  of  45  ryots  and 
19  artisans.  A  noteworthy  delegate  was  Mr.  John 
Adam,  "  the  Principal  of  the  great  Pachaiyappa's 
Collegiate  establishment  ".  The  Report  also  notes 
the  friendliness  of  The  Madras  Mail,  The  Bombay 
Gazette,  the  Calcutta  Daily  News  and  Statesman. 
Among  the  many  who  sent  letters  of  sympathy  were 
the   Shri  Mahant  of  Tirupati,    and  the    Maharaja   of 


'as  as  loliows  : 
362 

99 

79 

45 

13- 

9 

607 

THE    THIRD    CONGEBSS  37 

Darbhanga,  and  of  course  the  Hon.  Mr.  K.  T.  Telang, 
while  the  Hon.  Mr.  G.  M.  Ranade  was  present  in 
person,  though^  as  before,  unable  to  serve  as  a 
delegate. 

The  Congress  met  on  December  27th,  in  the  Pandal, 
erected  in  Mackay's  Gardens,  some  3,000  spectators 
assembling  in  and  around  the  great  tent.  Sir  T. 
Madhava  Rao  in  a  few  words  welcomed  the  delegates, 
and,  being  in  very  weak  health,  gave  his  brief  speech 
to  Mr.  C.  V.  Sundaram  Shastri  to  read  ;  he  justified 
the  Congress,  expressed  his  belief  that  the  Govern- 
ment was  willing  to  help  India  to  advance,  and  urged 
caution  on  "  all  parties  concerned  ".  Mr.  W.  C.  Bannerji 
proposed  and  the  Hon.  Mr.  S.  Subramania  Aiyar 
seconded,  the  election  as  President  of  Mr.  Budrudin 
Tyabji,  who  took  the  chair  amid  great  applause  ;  it  is 
interesting  to  note  that  the  first  Congress  was 
presided  over  by  a  Hindu,  the  second  l)y  a  Parsi, 
the  third  by  a  Musalman. 

Mr.  Tyabji  laid  stress  on  the  representative  char- 
acter of  the  Congress,  asserted  its  loyalty,  and 
finally  advised  that  a  Committee — ^the  names  of  which 
he  read  out — ^should  be  appointed  to  consider  the 
many  suggestions  sent  in  for  discussion  and  to  draw 
up  a  programme  for  the  work  of  the  Congress. 
The  proposal  was  warmly  approved  and  the  following 
Committee  was  accepted  : 

Bengal,  Ass^am  and  Orissa. — Mr.  W.  C.  Bannerji,  Dr. 
Trailokyanath  Mitra,  Messrs.  Surendranath  Bannerji  and 
Norendranath  Sen.  Beliar. — Messrs.  Saligram  Singh,  and 
Guru  Prasad  Sen.  Bombay  and  Sindli. — Messrs.  Chanda- 
varkar,  Khare,  Dhruva,  Nam  Joshi,  and  Gobind  Buksh. 
4 


38  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

North-West  Provinces  avd  Oudh. — Mr.  Moulvi  Hamid  Ali, 
Raja  Rampal  Singh,  Mr.  Ram  Kali  Chaudhuri  and 
Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya.  Punjab. — Pandit  Satya- 
nand  Agnihotri  and  Lala  Murlidhar.  Madras. — Messrs. 
Hume,  Sal^apathy  Mudaliar,  Sankara  Nair  and  W.  S. 
Gantz. 

The  appointment  of  this  Committee  is  interesting, 
as  it  was  really  the  first  "  Subjects  Committee,"  the 
body  to  which  all  real  debate  has  gradually  been 
transferred.  It  is  a  question  whether  the  plan  is  a 
good  one,  since  the  Committee  sits  in  private,  and 
hence  both  the  members  and  the  public  lose  the 
healthy  influence  of  open  debate,  which  add- 
ed so  much  to  the  vitality  and  interest  of  the 
Congress;  the  public  sittings  become  a  mere  for- 
mal passing  of  resolutions  debated  in  Committee. 
Besides,  the  younger  delegates  lose  the  training  in 
debate  which  they  enjoyed  in  earlier  days,  and  be- 
come the  more  critical  when  they  have  no  fair  oppor- 
tunity of  expressing  dissent  and  moving  amendments. 
In  the  days  we  are  now  studying,  amendments  were 
frequently  brought  forward   and  thoroughly  debated. 

On  the  second  day,  December  28th,  the  first  Reso- 
lution appointed  a  Committee  to  consider  what,  if  any, 
rules  should  be  framed  for  the  constitution  and  work- 
ing of  the  Congress,  to  report  on  the  30th  (tlie  list  of 
names  will  be  found  in  the  Resolution,  two  names, 
that  of  the  mover  and  of  Mr.  R.  P.  Karandikar,  being 
added  to  the  original  list).  The  Resolution  was 
moved  by  Dr.  Trailokyanath  Mitra,  who  remarked  that 
some  opponents  said  that  the  delegates  represented 
no  one  but  themselves ;  while   they  must  not    check 


THE    THIRD    CONGRESS  39 

the  growth  and  develojjinent  of  the  Congress  by  hard 
and  fast  rules,  too  early  imposed,  the  world  should 
know  who  elected  the  Congress,  and  that  the  Congress 
was  really  representative.  Mr.  Hamid  Ali  Khan 
seconded,  and  Mr.  W.  S.  Clantz  supported,  pointing- 
out  that  little  work  was  done  between  Congresses, 
whereas  work  should  continue  throughout  the 
year.  At  this  point  Dr.  Trailokyanath  Mitra's  name 
was  added.  Mr.  R.  P.  ECarandikar  moved  an  amend- 
ment, narrowing  the  scope  of  the  Committee  to 
framing  rules,  and  proposing  to  defer  the  question  of 
a  Constitution  till  the  Congress  had  gained  more  ex- 
perience and  had  visited  other  Provinces.  Others 
supported  the  amendment,  regarding  the  proposal  to 
frame  a  Constitution  as  premature,  but  on  the  appeal 
of  the  President  the  amendment  was  withdrawn,  as 
the  whole  matter  could  be  considered  on  the  report  of 
the  Committee  ;  this  was  done,  Mr.  Karandikar's  name 
was  added  to  the  Committee,  and  the  Resolution  was 
carried  unanimously. 

The  second  Resolution  re-affirmed  the  necessity  of 
the  admission  of  representatives  to  the  Legislative 
Councils,  and  Mr.  Surendranath  Banner] i  said  in 
proposing  it  :  "  We  unfurl  the  banner  of  the  Con- 
gress, and  up®n  it  are  written,  in  characters  of  glitter- 
ing gold,  which  none  may  efface,  the  great  words 
of  this  Resolution  :  '  Representative  Institutions 
for  India.' "  He  declined  to  enter  into  details, 
affirming  only  the  principle,  pointing  out  that  they 
were  not  legislators,  and  saying  :  "  The  Government 
has  highly  paid  officials,  drawing  thousands  of  rupees  a 


40  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

month,  and  it  is  for  them  to  elaborate  the  Bill  and 
settle  the  details,  upon  principles  which  may  find 
acceptance  with  the  Government."  It  is  significant 
that  Raja  Sir  T.  Madhava  Rao  seconded  the  proposal, 
remarking  that,  prudent  and  conservative  as  he  was, 
he  regarded  as  necessary  for  India  representative 
institutions  ;  he  said  the  principle  was  "  one  which 
the  British  Government,  I  am  sure,  will  not,  and 
cannot,  refuse  to  recognise  ".  He  was  optimistic 
enough  to  believe,  this  cautious  old  statesman,  that 
in  "  a  year  or  two  "  they  would  "  receive  a  satisfactory 
response  to  our  very  reasonable  recommendations  "  ! 
Only  28  years  have  passed  since  then. 

A  long  discussion  followed,  in  which  Mr.  Eardley 
Norton  made  a  remarkable  speech,  in  which  he  urged 
resolution,  courage  and  endurance,  until  the  right 
demanded  was  obtained.  "  I  was  told  yesterday  by 
one,  for  whose  character  and  educated  qualities  I 
cherish  a  great  esteem,  that  in  joining  myself  with 
the  labourers  in  this  Congress,  I  have  earned  for 
myself  the  new  title  of  '  a  veiled  seditionist '.  If  it 
be  sedition,  gentlemen,  to  rebel  against  all  Avrong  ;  if 
it  be  sedition  to  insist  that  the  people  should  have  a 
fair  share  in  the  administration  of  their  own  country 
and  affairs ;  if  it  be  sedition  to  resist  tyranny,  to  raise 
my  voice  against  oppression,  to  mutiny  against 
injustice,  to  insist  upon  a  hearing  before  sentence,  to 
uphold  the  liberties  of  the  individual,  to  vindicate 
our  common  right  to  gradual  ])ut  ever  advancing 
reform — if  this  be  sedition  I  am  right  glad  to  be 
called  a  '  seditionist,'   and    doubly,   aye,   trebly  glad, 


THE    THIRD    CONGRESS  41 

when  I  look  around  me  to-day,  to  know  and  feel  I  am 
ranked  as  one  among  such  a  magnificent  array  of 
'  seditionists '."  He  spoke  in  1887.  These  things, 
and  indeed  much  less  important  things,  are  still 
"sedition  "  in  1915. 

Pandit  Bishen  Narayan  Dhar  Avas  another  fine 
speaker,  and  he  pointed  out  the  value  of  free  institu- 
tions as  "  the  best  practical  school  for  mental  and 
moral  discipline  ".  "  To  be  called  on  from  time  to 
time  to  take  part  in  the  afl'airs  of  your  country,  to 
discuss,  with  the  sense  of  responsibility  that  power 
gives,  public  questions  ;  to  have  to  employ  your  high- 
est faculties  in  the  management  of  affairs  that  have  a 
direct  bearing  on  your  country's  glory,  and  on  the 
happiness  of  her  people,  these  things,  I  say,  are  all 
steps  in  the  education  necessary  for  the  unfolding  of 
all  the  speculative  and  practical  faculties  of  a  Nation." 
Without  this,  "  it  will  lack  that  instinctive  sense  of 
liberty,  that  robustness  of  character  which  are  essen- 
tial to  all  healthy  and,  therefore,  progressive.  National 
life  ".  He  appealed  to  the  views  taken  by  eminent 
Englishmen  on  this  matter,  giving  the  following  strik- 
ing opinions.  Sir  Richard  Temple,  who  was  hardly 
regarded  as  a  friend  of  India,  said  : 

For  all  tRat  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  elective 
principle  is  essential  to  that  political  training  which 
every  stable  government  (like  that  of  the  British  in  India) 
must  desire  to  see  possessed  by  its  subjects  ....  Public 
spirit  cannot  be  created  without  entrusting  the  people 
with  a  part  of  their  own  public  business,  a  part  limited 
at  first,  but  increasing  as  their  fitness  shall  grow.  Even 
if    political   risks    should    accrue,    they    must   be  borne  in 


42  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

performing  the  duty  which  the  British  Government  owes 
to  the  people  of  India.  In  that  country,  a  trustful 
policy  will  be  found  a  wise  one,  and  that  which  is  sound 
morally  will  prove  to  be  the  safest  politically. 

Sir  John  Lawrence,  as  long  ago  as  1864,  said  : 

The  people  of  India  are  quite  capable  of  administering 
their  own  affairs,  and  the  municipal  feeling  is  deeply 
rooted  in  them.  The  villag"e  communities,  each  of  which 
is  a  little  republic,  are  the  most  abiding  of  Indian 
institutions.  Holding  the  position  we  do  in  India,  every 
view  of  duty  and  policy  should  induce  us  to  leave  as  much 
as  possible  of  the  business  of  the  country  to  be  done  by  the 
people. 

A.nd  Mr.  Gladstone,  who  loved  Liberty  in  his  old 
age  even  move  fully  than  he  loved  her  in  his  youth, 
declared  : 

I  hold  that  the  capital  agent  in  determining  finally 
the  C|uestion  whether  our  power  in  India  is  or  is  not  to 
continue,  will  be  the  will  of  the  two  hundred  and  forty 
millions  of  people  who  inhabit  India.  The  question  who 
shall  have  Supreme  Bnle  in  India  is,  by  the  laws  of  right, 
an  Indian  question ;  and  those  laws  of  right  are  from  day 
to  day  growing  into  laws  of  fact.  Our  title  to  be  there 
depends  on  a  first  condition,  that  our  being  there  is 
profitable  to  the  Indian  nations ;  and  on  a  second 
condition,  that  we  can  make  them  see  and  understand  it 
to  be  profitable. 

It  was  England,  said  the  elo({uent  Pandit,  who  had 
created  the  desire  wliicli  the  Congress  was  voicing  : 

England  has  moved  us  from  our  ancient  anchorage. 
She  has  cast  us  adrift,  against  our  will,  upon  the  wide 
waters  of  a  seething  proletariat  ;  and  we  turn  back  to 
England,  and  ask  her  to  grant  us  that  compass  of  re- 
presentative in.stitutions  by  which,  amid  a  thousand  storms, 
she  has  steered  lier  prosperous  course  tf)  the  safe  haven  of 
regulated  political  freedom. 


THE    THIRD    CONGRESS  43 

It  was?  a  noble  appeal ;  but,  like  many  others,  it 
fell  upon  deaf  ears.  England  sowed  the  seed  of 
Freedom,  but  when  its  fair  harvest  showed  itself  in 
the  Congi'ess,  she  feared  the  result  of  her  work,  she 
hesitated,  and  finally  sent  Lord  Curzon  to  destroy 
her  own  success ;  then  there  came,  as  there  ever 
come,  from  dammed-up  aspirations,  unrest  and 
trouble,  and  then  coercion  and  half-hearted  reforms, 
and  growing  trouble,  until  the  War  broke  out  and 
saved  the  Empire,  and  gives  now  the  possibility  of  a 
blessed  change,  which  shall  bind  together  the  hearts 
of  India  and  Great  Britain — if  Britain  will  be  as 
wise  as  Russia. 

Another  Pandit,  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya,  came 
next,  and  spoke  with  the  passionate  earnestness 
natural  to  him  ;  we  give  a  long  extract,  to  show  how 
reasonable  was  the  plea.  It  is  as  valid  now  as 
then,  for  though  the  Minto-Morley  reforms  of  1910 
gave  some  representation,  the  details  were  so  juggled 
with  as  to  leave  the  representatives  in  a  hopeless 
minority,  and  to  give  them  absolutely  no  control 
over  the  Budget. 

Allow  me  to  say  this  much,  that,  placed  as  we  are  in 
this  country  under  a  foreign  Government,  however 
benevolent  and  generous  its  motives — the  motives  of 
those  who  take  part  in  the  administration — we  stand  in 
the  greatest  need  of  our  own  representatives  in  the 
Legislative  Councils.  Gentlemen,  the  whole  of  Europe, 
with  the  exception  of  Russia,  has  declared  that  the  most 
efficient  and  best  form  of  Government  for  any  country, 
which  has  made  any  advance  in  civilisation,  is  a  Govern- 
ment, conducted  not  solely  by  the  few  for  the  many,  but 
to   a  greater  or  less  extent  by  the  many  for  themselves — 


44  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

a  Government,  in  fact,  in  which  the  representatives  of 
the  people  have  some  potential  share — and  if  this  be 
expedient  for  European  countries,  where  the  rulers  and 
the  ruled  are  of  the  same  Nationality,  and  where  they  are 
of  the  same  religion,  I  think  it  must  be  conceded  that  it 
is  even  more  essential  for  India,  which  is  inhabited  by 
people  whose  habits,  manners,  customs,  language,  race 
and  cx'eed  differ  from  those  of  their  rulers.  If  we 
demand  for  India  that  there  should  lie  representatives 
of  her  people  in  the  State  Councils,  we  only  ask  for 
what,  not  simply  Europe,  but  America,  Australia,  and 
almost  the  whole  civilised  world  have  declared  with  one 
unanimous  voice  to  be  essential  for  any  Government  that 
is  to  be  suitable  to  any  country,  as  it  is  only  where  the 
representatives  of  the  people  are  allowed  to  take  part  in 
that  administration,  that  the  wants  and  wishes,  the  aspira- 
tions and  grievances  of  the  people  can  be  adequately  set 
forth,  properly  understood,  or  duly  provided  for.  That 
being  so,  gentlemen,  I  think  there  cannot  possibly  be  two 
opinions  on  the  point,  that  the  reform  which  we  crave 
for  from  Government  is  one  so  essential  for  the  well- 
being  of  this  country,  that  it  should  be  conceded  to  us 
without  the  least  avoidable  delay.  This  is  now  the  third 
time  that  we  have  thus  been  meeting  at  3'early  intervals, 
we  have  come  from  every  district,  from  the  most  distant 
portions  of  this  Empire,  and  in  many  cases,  at  the  cost 
of  great  personal  sacrifice.  We  have  nothing  personally 
to  gain,  no  selfish  aim  to  serve.  We  come  together, 
chosen  by  our  fellow-countrymen,  primarily  to  press 
upon  Government  the  fact  that  the  country  stands  badly 
in  need  of  this  reform,  and  that  the  entire  Nation 
prays  for  it.  But,  unhappily,  Government  has  not  as 
yet  listened  to  our  people's  prayer  ! 

What  is  it  tliat  we  see  year  after  year  ?  People 
assembling  from  all  parts  of  India — from  the  Panjab, 
Sindh,  Assam,  Madras,  Bengal,  Bombay,  the  N.  W. 
Provinces,  Oudh,  the  Central  Provinces,  from  every 
Province,  from  every  town— coming  together  to  implore 
Government  huml)ly  to  grant  this  reform,  which  is,  after 
all,    their    birthriglit  as  free-born    British  subjects.      It  is 


THE    THIRD    CONGRESS  45 

no  desire  or  motive  of  self-ambition  that  brings  these 
people  together  at  such  heavy  cost,  and  at  such  great 
personal  inconvenience.  There  is  no  taint  of  self-interest 
in  the  matter.  No.  Their  sole  idea  is  that  India,  their 
country,  of  all  things  stands  badly  in  need  of  this 
fundamental  reform  and  they  hope,  and  God  grant  that 
they  may  not  hope  in  vain,  that  their  unselfish  persistence 
in  asking  may  secure  for  their  native  land  this  great 
boon  !  I  cannot  possibly  believe  that  there  is 
one  single  educated  Indian,  who  after  studying  this  ques- 
tion can  rest  happy  in  his  mind,  without  trying  his  very 
best  to  secure  this  reform.  I  cannot  possibly  believe  that 
any  good  man  who  once  really  understands  what  this  re- 
form truly  means  for  his  country  and  his  countrymen,  for 
his  kinsmen,  his  children  and  himself,  can  remain  in- 
different to  it.  And,  gentlemen,  neither  we  nor  any  other 
intelligent  Indians  are  indifferent  to  it — and  though  thus 
far  success  has  not  crowned  our  efforts,  we  must  only  go 
up  to  Government  again  and  ask  their  earliest  considera- 
tion of  our  demands,  or  of  our  prayers  (call  them  which 
you  will),  and  entreat  them,  again  and  again,  to  concede 
to  us  this  reform.  Gentlemen,  it  is  nothing  very  great  we 
are  asking  them  to  do.  The  British  Government  has  al- 
ready made  this  concession  to  so  many  countries.  So 
many  Colonies,  so  many  British  Colonies  enjoj  it.  Canada, 
the  Cape,  the  Australian  Colonies,  innumerable  smaller 
places,  even  the  so-called  Crown  Colonies,  except  per- 
haps the  Fiji  Islands  and  some  purely  military 
posts,  all  enjoy  some  measure,  and  most  of  them 
the  fullest  measure,  of  Representative  Government. 
Britain  has  granted  or  conceded  this  concession  to  all 
these  places.  Why  should  she  withhold  it  from  the 
people  of  India  ?  Does  she  think  that  we  are  less  loyal 
than  her  subjects  in  other  lands  ?  Australia  would  break 
with  her  to-morrow  if  she  ventui-ed  to  prevent  Australia 
from  taxing  British  goods,  while  we,  in  all  good  temper, 
accept  an  odious  income-tax,  vilely  administered,  and 
imposed  not  to  meet  the  expenses  of  our  own  Government, 
but  to  provide  funds  to  enable  Great  Britain  to  annex 
Burma  or  menace  Russia.  Does  she  think  we  are  not 
prepared  for  the  privilege  ?  I  think  this  very  Congress  is 


46  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

proof  positive  of  our  ripeness  for  the  task,  and  of  the  in- 
telligence and  knowledge  which  would  be  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  affairs  of  the  nation  if  only  the  Government 
were  kind  enough  to  accede  to  our  wishes. 

Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  laid  great  stress 
on  the  neglect  of  Indian  affairs  in  Parliament,  as  a 
cogent  reason  why  India  herself  should  be  allowed  to 
look  after  them.  He  quoted  Mr.  Bradlaugh,  M.P., 
who  spoke  strongly  in  the  House  on  this  neglect  : 

Last  year  the  Budget  was  considered  on  June  21st 
and  the  year  before  on  August  6th.  It  was  not  right  to 
leave  to  the  last  moment  of  the  Session  the  only  oppor- 
tunity that  was  afforded  to  Parliament  of  considering  the 
wishes  and  the  grievances  of  the  200,000,000  of  people 
whom  we  rule.  That  any  Parliamentary  control  should 
be  exercised  over  the  aifairs  of  India  M^as  impossible,  when 
the  Indian  Budget  figured  upon  paper  as  the  8th  order 
upon  one  of  the  last  days  of  an  expiring  Session. 

Was  it  any  wonder  that  India  felt  indignant  ?  At 
this  very  Budget  debate,  said  the  Pandit,  29  members 
had  been  present  in  the  House  of  Commons  out  of  675  : 
"  How  would  they  like  their  own  affairs  to  be  treated 
in  that  way  ?  Would  the}^  I  repeat,  stand  it  for  one 
week  ?  "  "  They  will  not  do  their  duty  by  the  country 
themselves,  and  they  will  not  allow  us  to  do  it." 

Many  other  members  spoke,  and  one  of  them, 
Mr.  A.  Kumar  Dutt,  who  brought  a  petition  from 
over  45,000  persons  asking  for  reform,  told  of  the 
interest  of  the  people  of  his  Province  in  the  question, 
and  how  a  Chandala  (the  lowest  class  of  outcaste) 
had  come  forward  after  his  lecture,  forgetting  all 
his  surroundings  and  saying  :  "  We  are  going  to 
have    our    own   men    to   be    our   Legislators ;   that  is 


THE    THIRD    CONGRESS  47 

very  good,  that  is  very  good.'^  At  another,  a  very 
poor  Musalman  came  forward  with  a  four-anna  bit 
"  to  help  on  your  cause  ".  Another  Musalman  ex- 
plained to  an  enquirer  :  "  Look  here,  as  we  elect  our 
arbitrators  and  as  we  hold  ourselves  bound  by  the 
decisions  of  such  people,  so  let  us  elect  our  own  men 
to  be  our  Legislators,  and  they  will  pass  laws  by 
which  Ave  will  gladly  be  bound."  As  the  speaker 
said,  the  common  people  have  common  sense.  The 
Resolution    was    put  and  carried  unanimously. 

On  the  third  day,  December  29th,  the  third  resolu- 
tion, demanding  the  separation  of  executive  and 
judicial  functions  was  put  and  carried  unanimously, 
but  the  feeling  in  favour  of  it  Avas  so  strong  that  two 
hours  were  occupied  in  speeches  in  support  of  it.  It 
is  interesting  to  note  that  it  was  moved  by  Mr.  N. 
Subramaniam,  an  Indian  Christian  Barrister,  and 
seconded  and  supported  by  men  of  the  most  diverse 
opinions  on  non-political  questions. 

Resolution  lY  was  moved  by  Mr.  Norendranath 
Sen,  who  pithily  remarked  that  India  needed  to  be 
"  equally  qualified  for  Self-Govern ment  in  times  of 
peace,  and  Self-Defence  in  times  of  war ",  Mr. 
Saligram  Singh  seconded.  As  the  original  form  only 
asked  admission  for  the  "  sons  of  noblemen  and 
gentlemen  of  all  classes  resident  in  India,"  amend- 
ments were  proposed,  widening  its  scope,  and  it  Avas 
finally  passed  in  the  all-embracing  form  found  in  the 
list  of  Resolutions. 

Resolution  V  was  the  same  as  Resolution  XII  of 
the    Congress    of    1886,    but    is    noteworthy    for    the 


48  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

speech  of  Mr.  (now  Sir)  Sankaran  Nair,  who  pointing 
to  the  troubled  state  of  affairs,  and  the  likelihood  of 
England  being  involved  in  war,  asked  if  Indian 
civilisation  was  "  to  be  broken  into  and  destroyed  by 
Northern  invaders."     He  went  on  : 

Of  course,  we  have  this  mucli  freedom,  that  we  have 
full  liberty  to  offer  our  prayers  for  the  success  of  the 
Bi'itish  Governnient.  But  prayers,  I  fear,  are  not  likely 
to  be  of  much  use  to  us  or  to  them.  Is  the  peace  and 
tranquillity,  I  say,  which  we  now  enjoy,  to  be  ravished  from 
us,  without  our  voices  being  heard,  our  arms  being 
raised  in  the  settlement  of  the  dispute  P  It  appears  to 
me  absurd  to  entertain  such  an  idea.  It  appears  to  me 
intolerable,  the  more  especially  as  even  the  English 
themselves  cannot  assert  what  the  result  of  the 
struggle  here  is  likely  to  be,  if  India  continues 
debarred  from  helping  herself  and  them.  It  is  impossible 
to  foresee  what  will  happen,  if  this  policy  of  Govern- 
ment, of  refusing  our  co-operation,  is  persisted  in.  It 
appears  to  be  absolutely  suicidal  and  we  only  hope, 
equally  for  our  own  and  their  sakes,  that  the  English  may 
not  some  day  regret  that  she  has  refused,  while  there 
was  yet  time,  and  we  could  have  been  trained  into 
serviceable  allies,  those  prayers  which  we  have  so 
repeatedly  put  up  in  regard  to  this  matter.  The  Russians 
have  armed  their  foes  of  yesterdays  to  tight  on  their  own 
behalf  to-day,  and  the  result  shows  that  they  have  been 
justified  in  their  action.  Have  we  been  less  loyal  to  the 
British  than  the  Turkomans  to  the  Russians,  whom  they 
fought  with  only  yesterday  ?  They  lie  who  say  that  our 
loyalty  cannot  be  depended  upon  in  the  hour  of  danger. 

Some  very  earnest  and  warm  speeches  were  deli- 
vered, the  feeling  as  to  the  Russian  menace  being 
very  strong.  The  Resolution  was  carried  unani- 
mously, and  the  Congress  then  turned  to  the  less 
exciting  question  of  the  income-tax,  which  was 
discussed    in    a    very     business-like    way,     and     the 


THE    THIRD    CONGRESS  49 

Resolution      thereon      was       carried       unanimously ; 
therewith  the  business  of  the  day  ended. 

On  the  following  day,  Resolution  VII  was  very 
earnestly  and  competently  discussed  ;  a  working 
carpenter — sent  with  two  other  artisans  from  Tanjore 
— made  a  very  sensible  speech,  saying,  among  other 
things  : 

These  factories  and  workshops,  gentlemen,  when  they 
spring  up,  will  be  a  source  of  gaining  an  honest  liveli- 
hood to  thousands  of  our  countrymen  who  now,  destitute 
of  any  means,  are  driven  to  despair  how  to  keep  body 
and  soul  together.  And,  gentlemen,  how  welcome  will 
be  the  day  for  India,  when,  by  the  immense  and  growing 
development  of  her  arts  and  industries,  she  will  be  able 
to  find  at  least  a  wholesome  morsel  of  food  for  her  45 
millions  of  completely  destitute  children,  who  are  now, 
by  official  admission,  going  without  even  one  single  full 
meal  a  day. 

How  these  words  recall  Shelley's  apostrophe  to 
Liberty  : 

To  the  labourer  1»hou  art  bread, 
And  a  comely  table  spread.  .  .   . 
No,  in  countries  that  are  free 
Such  starvation  cannot  be 
As  in  England  now  we  see. 

Change  "  England  "  into  India. 
The    official    Report  of    the   Congress    remarks   on 
this : 

Referring  to  Mr.  Mookkanasari's  concluding  words,  it 
may  not  be  amiss  to  explain  that  it  is  due  to  no  want  of 
sympathy  for  the  miserable  half-starving  millions  of  their 
fellow-countrymen  that  so  little  has  been  said  during 
this  last  Congress  of  that  cruel  poverty  which  is 
I  year  by  year  decimating  the  lowest  classes  and 
5 


50  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

as  many,  perhaps  a  majority,  believe  is  surely,  if 
slowly,  creeping  higher  up  the  social  scale.  The 
fact  simply  is  that  since  the  resumption  of 
the  aggressive  annexive  policy  and  the  enormous 
increases  of  taxation,  that  have,  thus  far,  been  the  chief 
features  of  Lord  Duiferin's  administration,  the  Indian 
communit}'  despair  of  obtaining  any  material  alleviation 
of  the  misery  they  see  around  them,  until  they  can  secure 
a  potential  voice  in  the  administration,  and  it  is  this 
conviction,  more  than  anything  else,  that  is  giving  such 
an  intense  earnestness  to  their  efforts  in  the  direction  of 
representation. 

After  this  a  Resolution  to  repeal  the  Arms  Act 
came  up,  and  gave  rise  to  what  the  official  record 
calls  "  an  animated,  almost  fiery,  discussion  which 
lasted  some  hours  ".  It  was  a  question  then,  as 
now,  whicli  cuts  Indians  to  the  quick  ;  as  the  record 
says  :  "  No  native  of  India  may  possess  or  carry  arms 
without  special  licence,  whereas  Europeans,  Eurasians, 
Negroes,  Hottentots  or  Fiji  Islanders,  any  scum  of 
the  earth,  even,  that  the  ocean  casts  on  India's  shores, 
may  wear  arms  unquestioned,'^  That  is  the  sting; 
any  foreigner  may  bear  arms;  the  native  of  the  country 
may  not.  And  it  is  very  curious  that  Indians  carried 
arms  after  the  Sepoy  Rebellion,  and  were  not  forbidden 
them  until  1878.  The  mover  of  the  Resolution,  Rao 
Bahadur  Sabapati  Mudaliar  spoke  of  the  degradation 
and  the  slur  imposed  by  the  Act,  and  the  practical 
hardship  to  the  farmers  and  ryots,  unable  to  protect 
themselves  from  wild  beasts  and  robbers.  It  was 
seconded  by  Mr.  Bepin  Chandra  Pal  who — though 
wanting  no  weapon  himself  but  his  steel  pen  and  his 
sharp  tongue — demanded  the  repeal  of  the  Act  to  save 
thousands  of  men   and  women  from  being  killed  by 


THE    THIB-D    CONGRESS  51 

tigers  and  leopards,  and  also  because  the  Act  "  is 
wrong  in  principle,  injurious  in  its  effect,  and  is  simply 
suicidal  to  the  (jrovernment ".  An  amendment  in 
favour  of  modification  instead  of  repeal  was  proposed, 
and  after  mvich  discussion,  Resolution  VIII  was  car- 
ried as  printed  below,  the  first  of  many  appeals,  as 
righteous  as  they  were,  and  are,  useless. 

Mr.  A.  0.  Hume  then  brought  up  the  report  of  the 
Committee  appointed  by  Resolution  I,  giving  a  long 
series  of  tentative  rules,  and  proposed  that  they 
should  be  circulated  to  all  Standing  Committees,  and 
reported  with  suggestions  next  year.  The  Resolution 
— No.  IX — was  seconded  by  Dr.  Trailokyanath  Mitra 
and  agreed  to.  Allahabad  was  chosen  for  the  next 
Congress,  and  the  foi'mal  last  Resolution  passed.  The 
Congress   then   closed  with   the  usual  vote  of  thanks. 

Lord  Connemara,  the  Governor  of  Madras,  Sir 
Savalai  Ramasami  Mudaliar,  C.  I.  E.,  the  Sheriff, 
and  Mr.  Eardley  Norton,  an  English  barrister,  practis- 
ing in  Madras,  gave  entertainnients  to  welcome  the 
members,  and  the  whole  atmosphere  of  Madras  seems 
to  have  been  friendly. 

BESOLUTIONS 

Constitution 

T.  That  a  Committee  is  appointed,  consisting-  of  the  gentlemen 
(marginally  enumerated*)  to  consider  what  rules,  if  any,  may  now 
be  usefully  framed  in  regard  to  the  constitution  and  working  of  the 
Congress,  with  instructions  to  report  thereon  to  the  Congress,  on  the 
30th  instant. 

*  Messrs.  Nam  Joshi,  Chandavarkar,  Mir  Humayun  Jah 
Bahadur,  Hajee  Mahomed  Abdul  Shakoor  Badshaw  Sahib,  S.  Subra- 
mania  Iyer,  W.  S.  Gantz,  Rangiah  Naidu,  Surendranath    Bannerji, 


52  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Trailokyanath  Miti-a,  Kali  Charan  Banuerji,  Guru  Prasad  Sen, 
Saligram  Singh,  Raiukali  Cliaudhuri,  Ilafiz  Abdul  Rahim,  Ranipal 
Singh,  Pandit  Madan  Mohun,  Ganga  Prasad  Varnia,  Bishen  Narayeu 
Dar,  Hamid  Ali,  Murlidhar,  Satyanand  Agnihotri,  H.  H.  Dhruva, 
W.  C.  Bannerji,  Norendranath  Sen,  Eardley  Norton,  Joy  Govind 
Shome,  Iswari  Lai  Sircar,  G.  Subramania  Iyer,  D.  A.  Khare, 
S.  A.  Saminada  Iyer,  Sabapathy  Mudaliar,  A  O.  Hume,  C.  Vijiya 
Raghava  Chariar,  Govind  Buksh,  Karandikar. 

IX.  That  the  rules  drafted  by  the  Committee  appointed  under 
Resolution  I,  stand  over  for  consideration  till  next  Congress,  but 
that,  in  the  meantime,  copies  be  circialated  to  all  Standing  Congress 
Committees,  with  the  request  that  they  will,  during  the  coming  year, 
act  in  accordance  with  these  rules,  so  far  as  this  may  seem  to  them 
possible  and  desirable,  and  report  thereon  to  the  next  Congress, 
with  such  fui'ther  suggestions  as  to  them  may  seem  meet. 

Repr  esentativ  e 

II.  That  this  Congress  re-affirms  the  necessity  for  the 
expansion  and  reform  of  the  Council  of  the  Governor-General  for 
making  Laws,  and  the  Provincial  Legislative  Councils,  already  set 
forth  in  Resolutions  III  of  the  Congresses  of  1885  and  1886,  and 
expresses  the  earnest  hope  that  the  Government  will  no  longer  delay 
action  in  the  direction  of  this  essential  reform. 

Legal 

III.  That  this  Congress  once  again  places  on  record  an  ex- 
pression of  the  universal  conviction  that  a  complete  separation  of 
the  Executive  and  Judicial  functions  (such  that  in  no  case  the  two 
functions  shall  be  combined  in  the  same  officer)  has  become  an 
urgent  necessity,  and  declares  that,  in  its  opinion,  it  behoves  the 
Government  to  effect  this  separation,  without  fm-thcr  delay, 
even  though  this  should,  in  some  provinces,  involve  some  extra 
expenditure. 

Military 

IV.  That  in  view  of  the  loyalty  of  Her  Majesty's  Indian 
subjects,  this  Congress  considers  it  desirable  that  the  Queen's 
Proclamation  should  be  given  effect  to  ;  that  the  Military  Service  in 
its  higher  grades  should  be  practically  opened  to  the  natives  of  this 
country,  and  that  the  Government  of  India  should  establish  Military 
Colleges  in  this  country,  whereat  the  natives  of  India,  as  defined  by 
Statute,  may  be  educated  and  trained  for  a  niilitary  career  as  officers 
of  the  Indian  Army. 

V.  That  in  view  of  th(!  unsettled  state  of  jiublic  affairs  in 
Europe,  and  the  immense  assistance  that  tlie  people  of  this  country, 
if  duly  prepared  therefor,  are  capable  of  i-endering  to  Great  Britain 


THE    THIRD    CONGRESS  53 

in  the  event  of  any  serious  conipHcatioua  arising,  this  Congress  once 
again  earnestly  appeals  to  the  Government  to  authorise  (under  such 
rules  and  restrictions,  as  may  to  it  seem  fitting,)  a  system  of  volun- 
teering for  the  Indian  inhabitants  of  the  coimtry,  such  as  may 
qualify  them  to  support  the    Grovernment,  effectively,    in  any  crisis. 

VIII.  That  in  view  of  the  loyalty  of  the  jjeople,  the  hardships 
which  the  present  Arms'  Act  (XI  of  1878)  causes,  and  the  unmerited 
slur  which  it  casts  upon  the  jjeople  of  this  country,  the  Grovernment 
be  moved  so  to  modify  the  jirovisions  of  Chapter  IV  and,  if  necessary, 
other  portions  of  the  said  Act,  as  shall  enable  all  persons  to  possess 
and  wear  arms,  unless  debarred  therefrom,  either  as  individuals  or 
members  of  particular  communities  or  classes,  by  the  orders  of  the 
Government  of  India  (or  any  local  authority  empowered  by  the 
Government  of  India  on  that  behalf)  for  reasons  to  be  recorded  in 
writing  and  duly  published. 

Taxation 

VI.  That  as  the  administration  of  the  Income-Tax,  especially, 
as  regards  incomes  below  Ks.  1,000,  has  proved  extremely  unsatis- 
factory, it  is  essential,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Congress,  that  the  tax- 
able minimum  be  raised  to  Rs.  1,000,  the  loss  of  revenue  thus  in- 
volved, being  made  good,  and  further  financial  difficulties,  if  any, 
met,  by  reductions  in  the  existing  public  expenditure,  or,  shoixld 
this  prove  impossible,  by  the  re-imposition  of  an  import  duty  on  the 
finer  classes  of  cotton  goods. 

Educational 

VII.  That  having  regard  to  the  poverty  of  the  people,  it  is 
desirable  that  the  Government  be  moved  to  elaborate  a  system  of 
Technical  Education,  suitable  to  the  condition  of  the  country,  to 
encourage  indigenous  manufactures  by  a  more  strict  observance  of 
the  orders,  already  existing,  in  regard  to  utilising  such  manufac- 
tures for  State  purposes,  and  to  employ  more  extensively,  than  at 
present,  the  skill  and  talents  of  the  people  of  the  country. 

Formal  Business 

X.  That  the  Fourth  Indian  National  Congress  assemble  at 
Allahabad,  on  the  26th  December,  1888. 

XI.  That  copies  of  these  Resolutions  be  forwarded  to  His 
Excellency  the  Viceroy-in-Council  with  the  humble  request,  that  he 
will  cause  all  the  Resolutions  to  be  laid  before  Her  Majesty's 
Secretary  of  State  for  India,  and  that  he  himself  will  be  graciously 
pleased,  in  consultation  with  his  colleagues,  to  accord  them  his 
best  consideration. 


CHAPTER  IV 

"  The  Fourth  Indian  National  Congress  was  heralded 
by  a  tumultuous  outbreak  of  opposition."  Thus  re- 
marks the  official  Record,  on  beginning  its  summary 
of  the  Fourth  Congress,  that  of  1888.  It  met  in 
Allahabad,  and  Sir  Auckland  Colvin  signalised  him- 
self by  his  opposition,  while  Lord  Duiferin,  the 
Viceroy,  had  the  bad  taste  to  attack  it  and  brand  it  as 
seditious  in  a  banquet  given  him  on  his  leaving  office. 
The  most  outrageous  efforts  were  made  to  prevent 
its  being  held  in  Allahabad.  The  Chairman  of  the 
Reception  Committee  recounted,  in  his  speech  of 
welcome,  the  obstacles  which  the  Committee  had  had 
to  surmount,  for  all  the  re-actionary  and  tyrannical 
elements  in  India  had  risen  against  the  Congress,  terri- 
fied at  its  growing  strength.  They  were  first  informed 
that  they  could  use  the  Khusro  Bagh,  but  the  per- 
mission was,  a  little  later,  withdrawn.  Then,  in 
April,  they  were  given  permission  to  rent  a  large 
piece  of  waste  land  near  the  fort ;  four  months  later  the 
rent  was  returned,  with  the  information  that  it  was 
refused  on  sanitary  grounds.  Thirdly,  they  secured  a 
group  of  houses  belonging  to  friends,  but  these  were 
near   TJie  Pioneer  o^ce,  and  as  this  was  intolerable  to 


THE    FODRTH    CONGRESS  65 

the  stately  journal,  and  some  of  the  houses  were  with- 
in Cantonment  limits,  the  military  authorities  refused 
to  allow  these  to  be  used,  and  so  all  were  rendered 
impossible.  Finally,  just  seven  weeks  before  the 
meeting — while  the  authorities  were  chuckling  over 
their  success — a  representative  of  the  Reception 
Committee  slipped  quietly  over  to  Lucknow,  with  a 
carefully  drawn  lease  and  the  rent  in  his  pocket,  went 
to  a  Nawab  whose  splendid  house  in  Allahabad, 
standing  in  large  grounds,  happened  to  be  vacant,  and 
persuaded  him  to  accept  the  rent  and  sign  the  lease. 
On  the  very  next  day,  the  Reception  Committee  walked 
in  and  took  possession,  and  Lowther  Castle,  in  the 
very  middle  of  the  civilian  quarter,  nodded  to  its  next- 
door  neighbour.  Government  House,  where  Sir  Auck- 
land Colvin  fumed  in  helpless  wrath.  It  was  outside 
the  Cantonments,  so  the  military  authorities  could  not 
again  interfere,  and  the  lease  foiled  the  civilians.  So 
there  the  Congress  met,  and  a  huge  pandal 
was  raised,  seating  5,000  j^ersons,  while  a  splendid 
shamiana  (tent)  lent  by  the  Maharaja  of  Darbhanga, 
served  as  a  general  reception  room,  and  another 
was  lent  by  a  Muhammadan  nobleman  to  serve  as  a 
reading-room,  almost  every  paper  in  India — except 
the  Anglo-Indian — being  sent  gratuitously  ;  round 
these  arose  blocks  of  tents,  divided  by  wide  roads, 
each  block  having  its  own  dining  and  meeting  halls,  the 
whole  forming  a  finely  decorative  cit}^  while  Lowther 
Castle  itself  was  used  for  the  President,  Secretaries 
and  leading  delegates,  with  all  the  business  offices. 
A  quarter  was   set    aside   for  shops,   where  salesmen 


56  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

offered  the  beautiful  Indian  manufactures  of  the  U.  P., 
but,  the  Report  says,  spirituous  liquors  and  intoxi- 
cants of  all  kinds  were  rigidly  excluded. 

An  attempt  at  counter-opposition  to  the  Congress 
movement  was  made,  and  some  Anti-Congress  Associ- 
ations were  formed,  attended  by  the  officials,  adding 
much  warmth  and  enthusiasm  to  the  Congress  ;  and 
many  secret  gifts  reached  it  at  Lowther  Castle,  the 
Nicodemuses  coming  by  night  and  the  anxiety  that 
the  names  of  the  stivers  should  not  be  known  being 
pathetic.  Nor  was  it  unreasonable,  for  one  means  of 
oppt'ession  often  resorted  to  then,  as  now,  was 
demanding  heavy  security  for  good  behaviour,  with- 
out any  charge  being  made.  A  gentleman  who  had 
attended  the  Madras  Congress,  "  in  defiance  of  his 
district  officer,  a  most  rabid  anti-Congressman,"  was 
called  on  to  give  security  of  Rs.  20,000  to  keep  the 
peace.  He  gave  it  and  went  away,  feeling  that  if  he 
appealed  and  won  his  case,  there  would  be  some 
serious  charge  made  up  against  him  by  the  police. 
"  In  one  district  of  the  Panjab,  in  one  year,  security 
for  good  behaviour,  etc.,  was  demanded  from  between 
5,000  and  6,000  people.  Free  English  people  should 
realise  something  of  all  this,  before  they  condemn  our 
poor  people  too  strongly  for  not  having  the  courage 
of  their  convictions."  This  was  written  in  1889,  long 
before  there  was  any  "  unrest  ". 

The  Report  says  : 

Whether  there  is  any  wisdom  in  a  system  of  persecu- 
tion, that,  Avliile  it  stimulates  to  greater  activity  in  secret, 
keeps     nearly     three-fourths     of  a    movement .   like    the 


THE    FOURTH    CONGRESS  57 

Congress  out  of  sight,  we  must  leave  it  to  others  to  decide. 
But  this  much  is  certain  :  The  Congress  idea  has  now 
obtained  such  a  hold  upon  the  mind  of  the  country  that  no 
earthly  power  can  extinguish  it.  If  ten  thousand  of  the 
most  prominent  Congressmen  were  de])(j]'ted  to-morrow, 
the  idea  would  still  creep  on,  spreading  from  mind  to 
mind,  till  it  had  seized  every  man,  woman  and  child 
amongst  the  Indian  population,  ever  growing  stronger  and 
stronger  in  every  mind  which  had  received  the  seed.  It 
is  essentially  beneficent  in  its  character  and,  in  its  open 
growth,  instinct  with  peace  and  goodwill  to  men.  Official 
opposition  and  persecution  will  not  only  add  to  its  growth, 
Imt  will  operate  to  convert  an  open,  above-board, 
constitutional  movement,  into  a  secret,  underground,  and, 
therefore,  unconstitutional  one.  There  was  towards  the 
close  of  Lord  Lytton's  administration  a  great  deal  of  secret 
organisation  for  unavowed,  and,  probably,  even  to  its 
originators  scarcely  understood,  purposes :  though  none 
who  have  studied  history  can  doubt  in  what  this  would 
have  eventuated.  It  has  been  the  chief  glory  of  the 
Congress  movement  that,  aided  by  the  enthusiasm  elicited 
by  good  Lord  Ripon's  sympathetic  rule,  it  has  swept  away 
all  this  fungoid  undergrowth,  and  sweetened  all  political 
agitation  by  working  it  out  into  the  wholesome  light  of 
the  open  day.  It  will  be  the  fault  of  the  Bureaucracy — 
and  the  Bureaucracy  alone — if,  by  the  unconstitutional 
abuse  of  their  authority  and  powers,  they  drive  a  portion 
of  the  national  energy  back  into  the  old,  disused  and 
illegitimate  channels. 

Alike  for  England  and  India,  whose  fortunes  are 
now  inextricably  interwoven,  no  more  gravely  significant 
question  exists  at  the  present  day  for  consideration.  If 
England  only  invites  and  welcomes  the  confidence  of 
India,  and  receives,  with  kindly  consideration,  the  loyal 
suggestions  (not  necessarily  adopting  all,  but  treating 
them  with  the  respect  to  which  they  are  entitled)  of  the 
Congress  which,  year  by  year,  more  and  more  thoroughly 
represent  the  views  of  the  whole  thinking  portion  of  the 
nation,  all  will  be  well  for  both  countries.  As  a  great 
Indian   Prince  recently  said,  after  hearing  the  resolutions 


58  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

passed  at  the  several  Congresses  :  "  If  only  these  things 
be  conceded,  the  rule  of  the  British  in  India  will  last  for 
ever."  But  if  Viceroy's  and  other  high  functionaries  are 
to  be  permitted  to  sneer  at  and  misrepresent  the  aspira- 
tions of  a  great  nation,  if  subordinate  officials  are  to  be 
allowed  unconstitutionally  to  oppose  loyal  political 
movements  and  persecute  honest  and  earnest  men  for 
temperately  and  candidly  setting  forth  what  they  hold  to 
be  their  grievances  and  the  best  methods  of  redressing 
these — if  England  fancies,  in  a  word,  that  she  can 
maintain  by  fear  a  rule  that  only  love  can  immortalise, 
then  serious  troubles  only  too  probably  await  both 
countries. 

The  development  of  tlie  Congress  movement  during 
1888  was  very  great ;  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
pamphlets  and  leaflets  were  distributed,  hundreds 
of  men  travelled  and  gave  lectures,  and,  as  a  result, 
three  millions  of  men  "  took  a  direct  part  in  the 
elections  for  the  delegates  ".  In  Calcutta  the  women 
of  some  of  the  highest  Hindu  families  discussed  the 
"  Kangress,"  and  in  Allahabad  some  even  quarrelled 
with  old  friends  because  they  were  "  anti  "  ;  some 
even  did  pnja  (offered  worship)  for  it.  The  result  of 
all  this  was  that  the  number  of  delegates  attending 
doubled  that  of  Madras  in  1887  ;  1,500  were  elected 
and  1,248  attended.     They  were  thus  made  up  : 


Madras 

...     95 

Bombay  and  Sindh 

...  163 

Pan  jab 

...     80 

N.  W.  P.  (feOudh 

...  583 

C.  P.  &  Berar 

...     73 

Bengal,  Behar,  Orissa  & 

Assam 

...  254 

1,248 

THE    FOURTH    CONGRESS  59 

Moulvi  Muhammad  Hidayut  Rasul  explained  the 
large  band  of  delegates  from  Oudh  as  "  due  to  the 
kindness  of  our  brethren  in  the  Aligarh  camp — the 
opponents  of  the  Congress ".  This  doubling  of 
delegates  was  the  more  remarkable,  as  each  delegate 
was,  for  the  first  time,  required  to  pay  a  fixed  fee 
before  taking  his  seat. 

The  Congress  opened  on  December  26th,  1888, 
at  2  p.m.,  the  Hon.  Pandit  Ayudhianath,  the  Chairman 
of  the  Reception  Committee,  in  the  chair.  He  gave 
the  details  above  mentioned  as  to  their  tribulations 
in  house-hunting,  and  protested  warmly  against  the 
unwarrantable  accusations  made  by  Sir  Auckland 
Colvin  and  Lord  Duiferin,  resenting  especially  the 
letter  of  the  former  to  "  our  most  esteemed  but  much 
abused  friend,  Mr,  Hume  ". 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Pherozeshah  Mehta  proposed  and 
Sardar  Dayal  Singh  seconded  the  election  of  Mr. 
Yule  as  President.  Sheikh  Raza  Hassein  Khan,  in 
supporting  the  election,  produced  a  Fatwa,  support- 
ing the  Congress,  from  the  Shamsulnlma,  the  leader  of 
the  Sunni  community  of  Lucknow,  and  declared  that 
"  it  is  not  the  Muhammadans,  but  their  official 
masters,  who  are  opposed  to  the  Congress  ". 

Mr.  Yule,  in  his  presidential  speech,  argued  for  the 
right  of  representation,  pointing  out  that  in  1858,  the 
objection  raised  to  the  Bill  for  the  Government  of 
India  brought  in  by  Lord  Palmerston  was  that  it 
gave  no  representation.  Mr.  Disraeli,  succeeding 
almost  immediately,  brought  in  another  Bill,  in  which 
he  regretted   that  the   unsettled  state  of  the  country 


60  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

made  representation  impossible  at  that  time,  and  sug- 
gested a  queer  hybrid  scheme  which  was  withdrawn, 
and  a  third  scheme  was  brought  in,  a  provisional  one,  to 
continue  while  education  spread  so  as  to  enable  the  poli- 
tical powers  of  Indians  to  be  enlarged.  The  House  of 
Commons,  meanwhile,  was  to  regard  India  as  "a 
great  and  solemn  trust  committed  to  it  by  an  all-wise 
and  inscrutable  Providence  ".  "  The  650  odd  mem- 
bers,^' said  Mr.  Yule  caustically,  had  thrown  the  trust 
"  back  upon  the  hands  of  Providence,  to  be  looked 
after  as  Providence  itself  thinks  best  ".  The  Congress 
was  only  asking  for  that  which,  thirty  years  before, 
the  Grovernment  declared  to  be  desirable.  India  had 
an  immense  trade,  but  no  member  of  the  mercantile 
class  had  power  to  influence  the  laws  controlling  it. 
India  paid  £77,000,000  in  taxes,  and  not  a  man  of  the 
country  had  a  voice  in  its  disposal.  It  had  3,300,000 
students,  a  number  only  lately  reached  in  England,  and 
they  should  supply  material  for  some  representatives. 
"  In  England,  we  should  be  trusted  citizens.  In  India, 
well,  the  charitably  minded  among  our  opponents  say 
that  we  are  incipient  traitors." 

A  Subjects'  Committee  was  then  elected,  the 
country  being  divided  into  Circles,  and  a  number  of 
members  being  appointed  to  each,  106  in  all,  each 
circle  electing  its  own  members. 

The  first  thing  next  day  was  the  presentation  of 
a  silver  casket  containing  rupees  to  the  President, 
the  rupees  for  Congress  expenses,  the  casket  for 
himself.  Resolution  I  up  to  the  words  "  Resolution  IV 
of     the    Congress     of     1886,"    was     then     proposed 


THE    FOURTH    CONGRESS  61 

by  the  Hon.  Mr,  K.  T.  Telang,  who,  in  moving 
it,  effectively  answered  Sir  Auckland  Colvin's  and 
Lord  Dufferin's  attacks.  Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji 
seconded,  remarking  that  he  was  thankful  for 
the  opposition  to  the  Congress.  "  Causes  the 
noblest,  the  most  beneficent,  the  most  far  reaching 
in  their  consequences  for  good,  have  never  pros- 
pered or  triumphed  except  under  the  stress  of 
adverse  criticism."  Moreover  Lord  Dufferin's  attack 
had  reached  the  English  Nation,  and  Mr.  Gladstone, 
who  three  months  before  had  not  known  the  pro- 
gramme of  the  Congress,  had  said,  speaking  at  a 
great  meeting  :  "  It  will  not  do  for  us  to  treat  with 
contempt;  or  even  with  indifference,  the  rising 
aspirations  of  this  great  peoj)le."  Mr.  Bannerji 
remarked  on  the  extreme  moderation  of  their  pro- 
posals— and  in  truth  they  were  absurdly  moderate. 
The}"  asked  to  substitute  for  the  one-third  non-official 
members  who  Avere  nominated,  one  half  non-official 
members,  who  should  be  elected ;  they  asked  that  the 
Budgets  for  which  they  supplied  the  money  should  be 
submitted  to  them,  and  that  they  should  have  the 
j  right  of  interpellation  and  calling  for  papers.  27 
i  years  have  passed,  and  these  demands  are  but  very 
j  partially  granted.  Pandit  Bishan  Narayan  Dhar 
!  assured  his  hearers  that  "  if  you  go  on  making  your 
I  appeal  with  fairness,  courage  and  moderation  to  the 
I  great  English  Nation,  they  will  assuredly  respond  to 
your  prayers,  for  as  the  harp  responds  to  the  harper's 
touch,  so  does  the  great  deep  heart  of  England 
respond  to  every  reasonable  prayer  for  justice  and 
6 


62  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

freedom ".  A  very  beautiful  simile^  and  it  is  true, 
except  in  the  case  of  India,  where  the  harp  has  been 
touched  for  thirty  years,  and  has  not  yet  moved  that 
heart  to  respond. 

Lala  Lajpat  Rai — whose  name,  so  loved  and 
honoured  now,  appears  for  the  first  time  among  the 
Congress  speakers — very  usefully  quoted  the 
opinions  of  Sir  Syed  Ahmed,  who  Avas  a  sti'ong 
opponent  of  the  Congress,  but  who,  in  his  book, 
Canutes  of  the  Indian  Revolt,  written  in  1858,  had 
stated  "  that  the  people  should  have  a  voice  in 
its  Councils  "  was  necessary  to  the  stability  of  the 
Government,  so  as  to  "  warn  us  of  dangers  before  they 
burst  upon  and  destroy  us  ".  "  The  evils  which  came 
to  India,"  wrote  Sir  Syed,  "  from  the  non-admission 
of  natives  into  the  Legislative  Councils  of  India  were 
various."  At  the  time  Sir  Syed  wrote,  even 
nominees  of  Government  to  the  Council  Avere  not 
allowed. 

Mr.  S.  Ramaswami  Mudaliar  placed  a  simple  fact 
before  the  Congress,  showing  that  the  Resolution  did 
not  advocate  a  leap  in  the  dark  : 

Gentlemen,  while  we  are  humbly  praying  our  Govern- 
ment to  grant  us  some  small  representative  element  in  the 
Government,  we  have  actually  got  full-blown  represen- 
tative institutions  flourishing  in  this  country  under  our 
very  noses.  I  do  not  know  Avliether  you  are  aware  how 
they  are  flourishing  in  Pondicherry  and  other  places 
which  are  subject  to  the  French  Government.  England 
will  not  as  yet  allow  us  the  smallest  modicum  of  repre- 
sentati\'e  institutions,  but  in  Pondicherry  every  man  has 
a  right  to  elect  his  representative.  He  enjoys  manhood 
suffrage  !  Not  only  that,   Imt  the  people   of   Pondicherry 


THE    FOURTH    CONGRESS  63 

have  got  a  member  of  their  own  in  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  and  another  in  the  Senate.  Then  in  Pondi- 
cherry  itself  they  have  got  a  Council  which  is  called  the 
Council-General,  and  which  meets  every  year,  and  this  is 
an  elective  body  elected  by  the  whole  people.  Before 
this  Council  is  placed  the  Annual  Budget,  and  the  Bud- 
get is  fully  discussed  by  the  members.  The  Budget  is 
there  threshed  out  by  that  body,  and  it  is  not  until,  after 
this  discussion,  it  has  been  approved  that  it  comes  into 
operation.  Gentlemen,  it  is  said  that  we  are  not  tit  for 
representative  institutions,  but  it  is  our  fellow  country- 
men, our  relatives  in  many  cases,  no  better  educated  than, 
and  in  no  wise  diiferent  from  ourselves,  whom  the  French 
Government  has  found  to  be  fitted,  not  only  for  the  small 
instalment  of  representative  institutions  that  we  ask  for, 
but  for  fully-developed  representative  institutions,  inclu- 
ding manhood  suffrage,  which  none  of  us  ever  even  dream 
of  demanding.  I  commend  this  fact  to  the  careful  con- 
sideration of  our  opponents,  who  deny  our  fitness  for  even 
those  small  reforms  we  crave. 

It  would  hardly  be  possible  to  imagine  an  argu- 
ment more  cogent,  a  contrast  more  poignant. 

A  most  extraordinary  incident  then  occurred.  Kaja 
Shiva  Prasad,  who  had  become  notorious  as  a  leader 
of  the  anti-Congress  movement,  had  by  some  curious 
accident  obtained  election  at  a  public  meeting  at 
Benares,  and  claimed  his  seat  as  a  delegate.  He 
rose  to  move  an  amendment,  and  used  his  time  in 
attacking  the  Congress  and  presented  as  an  amend- 
ment a  draft  of  a  petition  to  the  Lieut. -Governor, 
quoting  without  references  supposed  statements  made 
in  unnamed  pamphlets  and  articles,  till  the  President 
stopped  him,  as  the  petition  was  in  no  sense  an 
amendment ;  whereupon  the  egregious  Raja  sat  down, 
and  the  Congress   became  serious  again.     A  proposal 


64  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

was  made,  seconded  and  accepted,  to  add  to  the  Re- 
solution the  concluding  words  as  printed,  and  it  was 
then  carried  unanimously. 

Mr.  Eardley  Norton  made  a  vigorous  speech  in 
moving  Resolution  II ;  he  quoted  the  views  of  Sir 
Robert  Peel  and  Mr.  Charles  Grant.  Sir  Robert  Peel 
had  declared  that  the  duty  of  England  was  "  to 
endeavour  while  we  still  keep  them  under  British 
rule,  to  atone  to  them  for  the  sufferings  they  endured, 
and  the  wrongs  to  which  they  were  exposed  in  being 
reduced  to  that  rule,  and  to  afford  them  such 
advantages  and  confer  on  them  such  benefits  as 
may  in  some  degree  console  them  for  the  loss 
of  their  independence.  These,  Sir,  are  considera- 
tions which,  whatever  may  be  the  anxiety  to  extend 
British  conquest,  and  to  maintain  the  rights  of 
British  subjects,  must  indisputably  be  entertained 
in  a  British  Parliament."  The  fact  is  that  during 
the  rule  of  the  East  India  Company,  Parliament 
interfered  at  20  years'  intervals  to  check  the  oppres- 
sion of  the  Indian  people.  After  1858,  Parliament 
grew  indifferent,  and  a  Bureaucracy  developed.  Mr. 
Norton  said  that,  as  an  Englishman,  he  was  ashamed 
of  England's  broken  promises  to  India.  He  quoted 
the  Duke  of  Argyll,  avIio  said  that  they  had  not  ful- 
filled "  the  promises  and  engagements  which  we  have 
made,"  and  Lord  Lytton  who  said  that  the  Indians 
had  been  "  cheated  "  of  their  liopes.  The  Hon.  Mr. 
Pherozeshah  Mehta  briefiy  seconded,  but  the  Resolu- 
tion was  not  in  the  form  finally  passed,  but  approved 
and    recited    the    report    of    the    Congress    of    1886. 


THE    FOURTH    CONGRESS  65 

Mr.  John  Adam  moved  and  Mr.  Sankara  Menon 
seconded  an  amendment,  acknowledging  that  the 
proposals  of  the  Public  Services  Commission  were  an 
improvement,  and  reaffirming  Resolution  lY  of  the 
Congress    of   1885.     On  this  the  Congress  adjourned. 

The  third  day  began  by  sending  a  telegram  of 
thanks  and  good  wishes  to  Mr.  John  Bright,  then 
lying  ill,  and  after  this  Mr.  Ramaswami  Mudaliar 
moved  another  amendment,  suggesting  that  the 
consideration  of  the  questions  dealt  with  by  the  Public 
Service  Commission  be  postponed  to  the  next  Con- 
gress, and  the  Hon.  Mr.  K.  T.  Telang  seconded.  Then 
Mr.  Monomohan  Ghose  proposed  Resolution  II  as  it 
stands  below,  and  Mr.  N.  D.  Chandavarkar  seconded. 
The  original  resolution  and  the  various  amendments 
were  withdraAvn,  and  the  Resolution  unanimously 
carried. 

Resolution  III,  re-affirming  Resolution  XI  of  the  Con- 
gress of  1886  was  carried  unanimously,  and  then  Re- 
solution IV,  embodying  three  former  ones,  was  carried, 
the  only  noticeable  point  being  the  first  appearance  of 
Mr.  N.  Subba  Rao  as  a  speaker.  I  like  to  note  the 
coming  on  to  the  stage  of  one  after  another  of  our 
present  workers. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  sarcastic  and  eifective 
speeches  ever  delivered  on  the  Police  introduc- 
ed Resolution  V  on  Police  Administration ;  the 
mover  was  Munshi  Sajjad  Husain,  the  editor 
of  the  Lucknow  Punch.  He  spoke  in  Urdu,  but 
even  the  translation  is  delightful.  The  British 
Grovernment  had   bestowed   on   them  many  blessings. 


66  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

and  had  also  given  them  the  Police.  No  Lieut. - 
Governor^  no  Viceroy,  had  such  power  over  his  com- 
fort as  a  simple  chowkidar  or  his  honour  the  constable. 

The  humblest  labourer  in  the  village,  the  most 
exalted  noble  in  the  city,  tire  equally  under  the  control 
of  these  distinguished  officials.  There  is  no  place,  no 
spot,  where  Their  Highnesses  the  Police,  like  the  Angel 
of  Death,  are  not  present.  Let  a  man  displease  them  in 
the  slightest,  and  see  the  beneticence  of  our  kind  Police. 
He  may  know  nothing  about  it,  but  there  will  be  a 
criminal  case  tiled  against  him,  and  arrangements  made 
for  requiring  him  to  give  security  for  good  behaviour, 
before  he  can  reach  his  home. 

On  the  whole,  the  editor  of  Punch  thought  that 
the  Police  were  more  troublesome  to  the  honest 
people  than  to  the  thieves  and  badmashes,  and  the 
investigation  into  a  theft  was  more  annoying  than 
the  robbery.  So  let  other  people  advocate  reforms 
of  Legislative  Councils  and  other  such  questions. 
He  wanted  the  reform  of  the  Police. 

Mr.  R.  N.  Mndholkar  seconded  the  Resolution  in 
an  admirable  speech,  pointing  out  that  the  policeman, 
who  ought  to  be  loved,  was  detested,  because,  being 
shamefully  underpaid  and  quite  illiterate,  he  was 
invested  with  enormous  powers,  so  that  he  could 
annoy  and  insult  all  around  him  with  impunity.  Mr. 
Pringle  noted  the  importance  of  the  Resolution,  be- 
cause the  police,  like  the  poor,  were  always  with  us, 
and  he  gave  instances  of  their  ill  behaviour,  declaring 
that  "  to  the  character  and  conduct  of  the  police  in 
my  own  part  of  the  country  I  can  speak  with  confi- 
dence, and  can  boldly  assert  that  it  leaves  almost 
everything   to  be  desired  ".     One   after  another  rose, 


THE    FOURTH    CONGRESS  67 

all  speaking  in  the  same  strain,  and  the  Resolution, 
asking  for  a  Commission  of  Enquiry,  was  carried 
unanimously. 

Then  came  the  reafRnnation  of  three  military  re- 
solutions passed  at  previous  Congresses,  and  much 
stress  was  laid  on  the  enormous  cost  of  English  sol- 
diers, and  the  remark  of  Lord  Randolph  Churchill 
was  quoted  that  the  new  taxation,  Avhich  was  wholly 
"  a  consequence  of  the  foreign  rule  imposed  on  the 
country  "  was  "  a  serious  political  danger  ....  of  the 
most  serious  order  ".  Mr.  Ali  Muhammad  Bhimji 
remarked  that  he  might  have  a  West  Indian  servant 
who  might  carry  arms,  while  his  Indian  master 
might  not.  Amendments  were  proposed,  modifying 
or  omitting  one  part  of  the  Resolution  or  another ; 
especially  as  regarded  the  Arms  Act,  but  the  Hon. 
Mr.  P.  M.  Mehta  urged  that  "  you  cannot  and  ought 
not  to  emasculate  a  whole  nation.  .  .  .  Remember, 
that  when  once  the  Indian  people  become  emas- 
culated, it  will  be  a  very  long  time  indeed  before  you 
can  get  them  to  recover  their  manliness  and  their 
vigour,"  and  the  Resolution  was  finally  carried  by  a 
large  majority. 

Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  moved  a  less  vigorous  form  of 
Resolution  VII,  asking  that  the  Government  would 
look  into  the  question  of  Abkari  and  Excise,  and 
rejoiced  that  the  Congress  had  taken  up  the  question. 
But  an  amendment  was  agreed  to,  which  was  shorter 
and  more  pointed,  and  was  carried  unanimously. 

Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  proposed  Resolu- 
tion   VIII,   and  at   the  close   of    his   speech    warmly 


68  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

protested  against  the  assertion  by  a  high  official  that 
the  promises  in  the  Queen's  Proclamation  of  1858 
"  were  made  more  as  a  matter  of  policy  than  in  honest 
good  faith,"  and  read  an  extract  from  a  letter  from 
the  Queen,  showing  Her  Majesty's  wish  that  the 
Indians  should  be  "  placed  on  an  equality  with  the 
subjects  of  the  British  Crown,"  and  saying  that  she 
was  "  giving  them  pledges  whicli  her  future  reign  is 
to  redeem  ".  The  learned  Pandit  remarked  that  ''  we 
hope  and  trust  they  will  be  soon  redeemed  ".  He  is 
still  hoping  and  trusting. 

After  other  speeches,  the  Eesolution  was  carried 
and  the  Congress  adjourned. 

The  fourth  day  of  the  Congress  opened  with  the  gift 
of  a  hall  for  the  Divisional  Congress  in  the  Southern 
Maratlia  country  by  Mr.  Ramachandra  Bahdeva 
Apte,  and  the  mention  of  innumerable  letters  and 
telegrams  of  congratulation.  Mr.  Adam,  the  Principal 
of  Pachaiyappa's  College,  then  moved  Resolution  IX 
on  Education,  saying  that  they  desired  "  to  extend 
primary  education,  to  broaden  secondary  education, 
and  to  maintain  at  the  highest  now  possible,  and  an 
ever  rising  level,  higher  education  ".  He  complained 
that  Government  policy  in  education  was  retrograde, 
and  that  Schools  and  Colleges  were  being-  closed  for 
want  of  support  from  the  Imperial  Government.  The 
Hon.  Mr.  K.  T.  Telang  seconded,  complaining  that  while 
Government  had  always  money  for  its  very  varied 
activities,  it  gave  only  1  per  cent  of  its  revenues  to 
education.  Mr.  G.  Subramania  Iyer  supported,  urging 
that  only  by  the  spread  of  education  could  the  country 


THE    FOURTH    CONGRESS  69 

adapt  itself  to  the  abandonment  of  old  ways  and  the 
acceptance  of  new,  brought  about  by  the  English 
connexion,  and  that  there  was  a  growing  idea,  which 
he  hiiBself  did  not  share,  that  the  check  to  higher 
education  was  an  answer  to  the  Congress  demands  for 
political  power.  Other  speakers  followed  and  the 
Resolution  was  unanimously  passed. 

As  it  was  Mr.  (Iladstone's  birthday  a  telegram 
of  good  wishes  was  then  sent  ainid  loud  applause. 

Rai  Tej  Narayan  Singh  Bahadur  next  moved  Reso- 
lution X,  asking  for  a  Commission  to  enquire  into  the 
industrial  condition  of  the  country,  and  it  was  second- 
ed by  Mr.  Ananda  Charlu.  Some  of  the  delegates 
wished  to  add  riders  on  emigration  and  on  technical 
schools,  but  the  Resolution  as  it  stood  was  eventually 
carried.  Then  Mr.  W.  C.  Bannerji — after  a  pro- 
posal on  Land  Settlement  had  been  made  and  with- 
drawn— moved  Resolution  XI,  submitting  the  Reso- 
lutions to  the  Viceroy  and  Her  Majesty's  Government, 
and  asking  for  a  Parliamentary  Committee  to  look 
into  the  grievances  complained-  of.  In  1885  the  Con- 
gress had  asked  for  a  Royal  Commission,  but  they  asked 
now  only  for  a  Parliamentary  Committee  as  swifter  in 
its  action,  and  appealed  to  Mr.  Bradlangh,  M.  P.,  to 
support  their  prayer.  He  again  declared  that  the 
British  public,  "  a  truth-loving  and  a  justice-loving 
public,"  would  give  them  what  they  wanted.  Pandit 
Bishambhar  Nath,  in  seconding,  remarked  that  if  Sir 
Auckland  Colvin  had  been  in  that  assembly,  he  would 
have  seen  that  "  the  creation  of  a  healthy  tone  of 
independence    in    India,"     which     he  declared   was 


70  HOW    INDIA    WROUrxHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

impossible,  was  developing  hand-in-haiid  with  en- 
thusiastic loyalty  to  Her  Majesty's  Throne.  After 
four  other  speakers  had  supported  it,  the  Resolution 
was  carried   unanimously. 

Resolution  XII  was  moved  by  Captain  Banon  in  a 
strong  speech,  and  seconded  by  Captain  Hearsay,  who 
pointed  out  that  over  2,000  Indian  women  were  procured 
by  Grovernment  "  for  the  hideous  purpose  alluded  to," 
that  the  provision  encouraged  the  boy-soldiers  to  loose 
living,  and  that  it  would  be  better  to  encourage  the 
soldiers  to  marry.  The  resolution  was  supported  by 
Mr.  Howard  and  Moulvi  Muhammed  Hafiz,  and  car- 
ried unanimously.  Resolution  XIII  was  then  warmly 
supported  and  passed,  so  as  to  avoid  the  acceptance 
of  any  resolution  dealing  with  a  purely  Hindu  or 
Muhammadan  question  against  the  will  of  those  who 
would  be  affected  by  it — a  resolution  bearing  witness 
to  the  sagacity  and  impartiality  of  the  Congress. 

The  question  of  Permanent  Settlement,  which  had 
been  withdrawn,  was  again  brought  up  by  a  show  of 
hands  in  favour  of  it,  and  a  resolution  on  it  was  pro- 
posed, seconded  and  supported.  The  question  was 
felt  to  be  of  such  magnitude,  that  an  amendment.  Reso- 
lution XIV,  proposed  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  K.  T.  Telang, 
was  unanimously  passed,  the  original  resolution  being 
withdrawn.  Resolution  XV  had  been  rejected  by  the 
Standing  Committee  as  useless,  but  was  insisted  on 
by  the  Congress  and  unanimously  carried.  Bombay 
or  Poona  was  then  chosen  for  the  next  Congress,  and 
Mr.  A.  0.  Hume  was,  amid  great  applause,  "  re- 
elected "    General   Secretary,     It  is  curious   that  this 


THE    FOURTH    CONGRESS  71 

is  the  first  resolution  on  the  record  with  regard  to  a 
General  Secretary,  an  office  filled  practically  by 
Mr.  Hume  from  the  first  Congress.  His  courage, 
the  attacks  made  on  him,  and  his  devotion,  marked 
him  out  for  the  post. 

A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  President  followed,  and  the 
Fourth  Congress  Avas  dissolved. 

RESOLUTIONS 
Representation 

I.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  affirms  the  necessity  for  the 
expansion  and  reform  of  the  Council  of  the  Governor-General  for 
making  laws  and  regulations,  and  of  the  existing  Provincial 
Legislative  Councils,  already  set  forth  in  Resolutions  III  of  the 
Congress  of  1885  and  1886,  and  Resolution  II  of  the  Congress  of 
1887  (a  tentative  scheme  for  which  expansion  and  reform  was 
suggested  in  Resolution  IV  of  the  Congress  of  1886) ;  and  further 
urges  that  a  Legislative  Council  (of  the  same  character  as  those 
which  have  been  suggested  for  Provinces  where  Legislative  Councils 
already  exist)  be  established  for  the  Punjab. 

Public  Service 

II.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  while  appreciating  the 
concessions  proposed  in  the  Report  of  the  Public  Service 
Commission,  yet  feels  it  necessary  to  put  distinctly  on  record  its 
opinion  that  full  justice  will  never  be  done  to  the  people  of  this 
country  until  the  open  competitive  examination  for  the  Civil 
Service  of  India  is  held  simultaneously  in  England  and  in  India. 

Legal 

III.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  having  read  and  considered 
Resolution  XI  of  the  Congress  of  1886,  to  wit — 

(See  Resolution  XI,  1886) 
and  Resolution  III  of  the  Congress  of  1887,  to  the  same  eifect,  does 
now,  hereby,  affirm  the  same  respectively. 

IV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  having  read  and  considered 
Resolution  VIII  of  the  Congi-ess  oi^  1886,  to  wit — 

(See  Resolution  VIII,  1886) 
Resolution  IX  of  the  Congress  of  1886,  to  wit — 

(See  Resolution  IX,  1886) 
and  Resolution  X  of  the  Congress  of  1886,  to  wit — 

(See  Resolution  X,  1886) 
does  now,  hereby,  affirm  the  same  respectively. 


72  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Police 

V.  Resolved — That,  as  it  is  the  general  belief  of  the  people  of 
this  country  that  the  existing  system  of  police  administration  in 
India  is  highly  unsatisfactory  in  itself  and  oppressive  to  them,  the 
Government  be  respectfully  urged  to  ajipoint  a  Commission,  con- 
sisting of  oilicial  and  non-official  members,  to  investigate  the  entire 
qnestion  as  speedily  as  possible. 

Military 

VI.  Resolved — That  tliis  Congress  having  read  and  considered 
Resolution  IV  of  the  Congress  of  1887,  to  wit — 

(See  Resolution  IV,  1887) 
Resolution  XII    of  the  Congress    of  1886,    and   Resolution    V  of  the 
Congress  of  1887,  to  wit — 

(See  Resolution  XII,  1886,  and  Resolution  V,  1887) 
and  Resolution  VIII  of  the  Congress  of  1887,  to  wit-- 

(Soe  Resolution  VIII,  1887) 
does  now,  hereby,  affirm  the  same  respectively. 

Temperance 

VII.  Resolved — That,  having  regard  to  the  fact  that  a  serious 
increase  in  the  consumption  of  intoxicants  has  taken  place  under 
the  systems  of  Abkari  and  Excise  now  prevailing  in  India,  the 
flovernment  be  respectfully  urged  to  adopt  some  such  improved 
system  as  shall  tend  to  discourage  insobriety. 

Taxation 

VIII.  Resolved — That  as  the  administration  of  the  Income  Tax, 
especially  as  regards  incomes  below  Rs.  1,000,  has  pros-ed  extremely 
unsatisfactory,  it  is  essential,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Congress,  tliat 
the  taxable  minimum  be  raised  to  Rs,  1,000. 

Education 

IX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  being  of  opinion  that  it  is 
the  first  duty  of  the  British  Government  in  India  to  foster  and 
encourage  education,  as  well  general  as  technical,  in  all  its  branches, 
and  that  the  declaration  made  in  the  recent  resolution  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  on  the  subject  of  education  is  calculated  to  encourage 
the  tendency  to  reduce  imperial  expenditure  on  education,  and  to 
withdraw  from  the  control  of  it,  respectfully  urges  upon  Govern- 
ment the  extreme  importance  of  increasing,  or  at  any  rate  of  not 
decreasing,  the  present  expenditure  on  education,  and  of  the 
Government  continuing  to  control  the  Educational  Institutions  of 
all  kinds  now  existing. 


THE    FOURTH    C0NGRE.S8  73 

X.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  poverty  of  the  people, 
tlie  importance  of  eucoui-aging  indigenous  manufactures,  and  the 
dilticTilty  of  practically  introducing  any  general  system  of  technical 
education  with  the  present  imperfect  information,  Government  be 
moved  to  delay  no  longer  the  appointment  of  a  mixed  Commission, 
to  eni|uirc  into  the  present  industrial  ccmdition  of  the  comitry. 

Request  for  a  Parliamentary  Committee 

XI.  Resolved — That  the  foregoing  Resolutions  be  submitted 
for  the  favourable  consideration  of  His  Excellency  the  Viceroy,  and 
for  transmission  by  him  to  Her  Majesty's  Government,  with  the 
humble  request  of  this  Congress  that  the  reforms  suggested  in  the 
said  Resolutions  (based  as  most  of  these  are  on  Her  Gracious 
Majesty's  Proclamation  of  1858,  may  now  be  effected ;  and  that 
should  it  be  deemed  necessai-y  first  to  institute  any  enquiry  into  any 
of  the  matters  forming  the  subjects  of  these  Resolutions,  siich  enquiry 
may  be  made,  as  si^eedily  as  posi?ible,  by  a  Parliamentary 
Committee. 

Prostitution 

XII.  Resolved — -That  this  Congress,  having  M^atched  with 
interest  aiid  sympathy  the  exertions  that  are  being  made  in  England 
for  the  total  abrogation  of  laws  and  rules  relating  to  the  regulation 
of  prostitution  by  the  State  in  India,  places  on  record  its  ajoprecia- 
tion  of  the  services  thus  rendered  to  this  country,  and  its  desire  to 
co-operate  by  all  means  in  its  power  in  the  attainment  of  this  Inud- 
rilile  object. 

Congress  Constitution 

XIII.  Resolved — -That  no  subject  shall  be  passed  for  discussion 
by  the  Subjects  Committee,  or  allowed  to  be  discussed  at  any  Congress 
by  the  President  thereof,  to  the  introduction  of  which  the  Hindu  or 
Muhammadan  Delegates  as  a  body  object,  unanimously  or  nearly 
unanimously  ;  and  that  if,  after  the  discussion  of  any  subject  which 
has  been  admitted  for  discussion,  it  shall  appear  that  all  the  Hindu 
or  all  the  Muhammadan  Delegates  as  a  bodj'  are  unanimously  or 
nearly  unanimously  opposed  to  the  Resolution  which  it  is  proposed 
to  pass  thereon,  such  Resolution  shall  be  dropped  ;  provided  that 
this  rule  shall  refer  only  to  subjects  in  regard  to  which  the  Congress 
has  not  already  definitely  pronounced  an  opinion. 

Permanent  Settlement 

XIV.  Resolved — That  the  question  of  the  introduction  of  a 
Permanent  Settlement  of  the  Land  Revenue  Demand  into  the 
Madras  and  Bombay  Presidencies  and  other  Provinces  be  referred 
to  the  several  standing  Congress  Committees,  with  instructions  to 
report  upon  the  same,  in  so  far  as  it  affects  their  respective  circles, 
to  the  Congress  of  1889. 


74  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    TOR    FREEDOM 

Salt  Tax 

XV.  Resolved — Thut  this  Couiire.ss  puts  on  record  its  dis- 
upproval  of  the  recent  enhancement  of  the  Salt  Tax,  as  involving  a 
perceptible  increase  to  the  burthens  of  the  poorer  classes,  as  also 
the  partial  absorption,  in  a  time  of  peace  and  plenty,  of  the  only 
Financial  Reserve  of  the  Empire. 

Formal 

XVI.  Resolved — That  the  Fifth  Indian  National  Congress  do 
assemble  in  the  Bombay  Presidency  (either  at  Bombay  itself  or  at 
Poona,  as  niav  be  settled  hereafter)  on  the  26th  of  December, 
1889. 

XVII.  Resolved— That  Mr.  A.  O.  Hume  be  re-appointed 
General  Secretary  for  the  ensuing  year. 


CHAPTER  V 

The  Congress  of  1889  was  signalised  by  the  extra- 
ordinaiy  welcome  given  by  it,  and  by  India,  to 
Mr.  Charles  Bradlaugli,  M.  P.,  that  noble  English 
Democrat,  who  might  say  with  Thomas  Paine  :  "  The 
world  is  my  country,  and  to  do  good  my  religion  "  ; 
for  wherever  there  was  a  country  striving  to  free 
itself  from  oppression,  there  his  trumpet-voice  rang 
out  for  Liberty,  there  he  stood  in  the  breach  to 
defend  and  to  strengthen.  "  Member  for  India,^' 
he  was  rightly  called,  for  he  spoke  for  her  in  the 
Council  Chamber  of  the  Empire. 

The  Fifth  Congress  met  in  Bombay  on  December 
26th,  1889,  and  found  there  warm  welcome,  the 
clouds  which  lowered  over  Allahabad  having  wholly 
dissolved  away.  Sir  Albert  Sassoon  lent  the  site 
for  the  great  temporary  Hall,  into  which  6,000 
people  packed  themselves,  1,913  of  whom  were  dele- 
gates. 2,500  delegates  had  been  elected,  1,889  register- 
ed their  names,  and  another  24  paid  for  their  tickets, 
but  unfortunately  did  not  i^egister.  Grlancing  over 
the  register,  we  find  people  of  all  professions  and 
trades  from  all  parts  of  the  country — princes,  land- 
lords,   peasants,    merchants,     contractors,     barristers, 


76  HOW    INDIA    WliOUOHT    FOE    FREEDOM 

vakils,  pleaders,  solicitors,  attorneys,  .principals, 
headmasters,  professors,  teachers,  editors,  money- 
lenders, bankers,  brokers,  manufacturers,  traders, 
shopkeepers,  artisans,  doctors,  sardars,  printers, 
authors,  reises,  taluqdars,  a  judge,  a  munsift',  nine 
clergymen  and  missionaries,  and  ten  ladies,  seven  of 
whom  were  Indians.  A  striking  fact  is  the  large 
number  of  merchants  and  zemindars,  and  also  of 
secretaries  of  public  l)odies,  numicipal  commissioners 
and  members  of  boards.  The  delegates  divided  by 
Provinces  were  : 


Madras 

...   :Mi6 

Bombay  and  8iiidh     ... 

Panjab 

N.W.PandOudh        

...   821 
...     62 
...   261 

C.P.  and  Berai-             

...   214 

Bengal,  Beliar,  Orissa,  Assam 

...   165 

1,889 

Bombay  sent  38^  delegates  to  the  Bombay  Congress 
of  1885,  and  to  this  Bombay  Congress  in  1889  it  sent 
821.  There  were  2  Muhammadans  at  the  first 
Congress,  254  at  the  fifth.     Comment  is  needless. 

Mr.  Pherozeshah  M.  Mehta  Avas  the  Chairman  of 
the  Reception  Committee,  and  to  him  fell,  therefore, 
the  pleasant  duty  of  welcoming  the  Congress,  and 
of  a.sking  it  to  elect  formally  its  President.  He  spoke 
of  "the  nationalising  tendency  which  is  now  so  power- 
fully leavening  New  India,"  and  after  alluding  to  the 
way  in  which  the  Congress  had  surmounted  all  diffi- 
culties, he  welcouu^d  him  "  whom  we  have  learned  to 
hail  as  the   Member  for  India  in  the  British  House  of 


THE    PIPTH    CONGRESS  77 

Commons,"  on   Avliom    had  descended   the   mantle  of 
John  Bright  and  Professor  Fawcett. 

Mr.  W.  C.  Bannerji  then  proposed,  the  Hon. 
Pandit  Ayodhyanath  seconded,  and  Raja  T.  Rama 
Rao  supported,  the  election  of  Sir  William  Wedder- 
burn  as  President,  and  he  took  the  Chair  amid  enthu- 
siastic cheers. 

Sir  William  Wedderburn  laid  stress  on  the  destruc- 
tion of  the    safeguards — which  existed  in  the  time  of 
the  East  India  Company  in  Parliamentary  control  and 
periodical   enquiry — by   the    Crown   taking    over    the 
Government   of   India   in    1858,   from  which  he  dated 
India's   principal    misfortunes.      He  showed    how   the 
India  Office  had  strangled  the  scheme  for  Agricultural 
Banks,  sent  up  by  Lord  Ripon,  saying  that  it  was  not 
"■  practicable  ".     "  I     wonder,"      said     Sir     William, 
"  whether  Sir  J.  Clorst  is  aware  that  in  Germany  alone 
there  are    2,000    such    Agricultural   Banks   in  active 
working,  and  that  throughout  the  Continent  of  Europe 
it  is  admitted   that    without  such  financial  institutions 
the     peasant     proprietor     is     absolutely     unable     to 
maintain   himself  without  falling  into   the  clutches  of 
the  village   usurer."       He   praised   the   work   of  the 
Congress,  and   of  the  Congress   Agency  in   England, 
with  "  its  indefatigable  Secretary  Mr.  William  Digby," 
and  rejoiced   over   the   going  to   England  of  a  depu- 
tation to  appeal  to  the  people  of  England  "  to  perform 
their    trust     and    duty     towards   the    unrepresented 
millions   of  India  :  appeals   to  unselfishness,  to  justice 
and  to  humanity   will  ever  find  a  sure  response  from 
'  the  great  heart  of  the  British  people  ".     The  response 


78  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

has  not  yet  reached  India  ;  it  has  a  long  way 
to  come. 

Two  presentations  were  made  to  the  President,  at 
the  close  of  his  address,  towards  the  expenses  of  the 
Congress,  with  a  book  and  a  silver  salver  as  me- 
mentoes for  himself.  Th^  names  of  the  delegates 
elected  from  each  circle  to  the  Subjects  Committee — • 
among  which  we  note  that  of  Mr.  B.  G.  Tilak — were 
then  read  out,  107  in  number,  and  ratified  by  Con- 
gress, the  President  and  Secretary  making  109, 
sitting  on  it  e,v  ufficAu,  and  the  Congress  adjourned 
to  the  following  day,  leaving  the  Committee  to  its 
labours. 

The  second  day^s  sitting  began  with  the  presentation 
of  the  report  from  the  Standing  Committee  of  Madras, 
but  none  other  was  forthcoming.  Mr.  Pherozeshah  M. 
Mehta  then  proposed  Resolution  I;  he  said  it  was  impos- 
sible to  present  all  the  addresses  and  telegrams  which 
had  come  pouring  in  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  so  it 
was  better  to  frame  an  address  to  Mr.  Bradlaugh  from 
the  Congress  and  take  the  rest  as  read.  The  Hon. 
Pandit  Ayodhyanath  and  Mr.  John  Adam  seconded 
and  supported,  and  the  resolution  was  carried  by 
acclamation. 

The  President  then  opened  the  important  business 
of  the  day,  the  reform  of  the  Jjegislative  Councils, 
saying  that  a  draft  Bill  had  been  prepared  by 
Mr.  Bradlaugh  and  circulated,  embodying  the  view  of 
the  Congress  as  so  far  expressed.  Mr.  Bradlaugh  wish- 
ed to  obtain  the  mature  opinion  of  the  Indian  people  on 
certain    matters,    so   that    they  might  ])e  embodied  in 


THE    FIFTH    CONGRESS  79 

the  Bill.     Certain  proposals  had  therefore  been  draft- 
ed^ and  must  be  considered. 

Mr.  Eardley  Norton  moved  Resolution  II  with 
the  Scheme,  giving  an  outline  of  principles  to  be 
emV)odied  in  a  Bill.  The  existing  Councils  were 
shams,  and  they  demanded  to  be  given  half  of 
each  Council,  "  to  do  with  as  we  choose".  Given 
this  principle  of  election  :  "  We  shall  have  the  right 
to  control  ourselves ;  we  shall  have  the  right,  to 
a  certain  extent,  to  control  our  taxation  ;  we  shall 
have  the  right  to  criticise  the  Budget ;  and  last,  but 
not  least,  we  shall  have  the  glorious  privilege  of 
interpellation,  a  right  which,  if  properly  applied, 
will  inure  to  the  enormous  benefit  both  of  the  rulers 
and  of  the  ruled,"  The  indirect  method  of  election 
was  proposed,  because  there  was  no  chance  of  ob- 
taining direct,  and  because  the  various  bodies  al- 
ready existing.  Municipalities,  Boards,  Universities, 
etc.,  would  really  give  to  (lovernment  the  power  of 
manipulating  the  electorates.  The  Hon.  Pandit 
Ayodhyanath,  in  seconding,  said  that  the  existing 
Councils  were  a  farce,  and  Pandit  Bishen  Narayan 
Dhar  remarked  that  if  the  Government  really  wished 
to  know  the  opinion  of  the  people,  the  principle  of 
election  must  be  accepted  : 

The  chief  plank  of  the  Congress  platform  is  the 
elective  principle,  and  we  are  not  going  to  be  satisfied 
with  a  thing'  that  will  be  a  snare,  a  mockery,  and  a  de- 
lusion, leading  men  to  believe  that  they  have  something 
which  they  do  not  really  possess.  What  we  want  is  not 
sham,  but  reality  ;  not  shadow,  but  substance  ;  not  nomi- 
nation, which  is  another  name  for  deception,  but  represen- 
tation, which  is  the  essence  of  political  reform. 


80  HOW    TNDIA    WKOFGHT    FOB    FREEDOM 

Among  the  speakers  who  supported  the  resolution 
were  Mr.  (1.  Subramania  I^^er,  Mr.  Bepiu  Chandra 
Pal,  Lala  Lajpat  Rai,  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya 
— who  showed,  by  the  increase  of  tlie  Salt  Tax 
and  the  compelling  of  the  ryot  to  pay  the  Patwari 
Cess  twice  over,  how  much  out  of  touch  with  the 
poor  were  the  nominated  members — and  Mr.  Suren- 
dranath  Bannerji,  who  once  more  expressed  his 
certainty  that  there  could  "  come  but  one  response, 
which,  I  am  confident,  will  be  in  accord  with  the  great 
traditions  of  the  English  people,  and  will  serve  to 
consolidate  the  foundations  of  British  rule  in  India, 
and  to  hroad-base  it  upon  the  affections  of  a  happy, 
prosperous  and  contented  people  ".  Congress  speakers 
show  a  remarkable  readiness  to  prophesy,  with  an 
ecpially  remarkable  failure  to  prophesy  correctly. 

The  Scheme  was  put  clause  by  clause,  and  1  and  2 
passed  unchallenged.  On  clause  3  it  Avas  moved, 
unsuccessfully,  to  strike  out  the  word  "  male,"  so  tliat 
qualified  women  might  vote. 

On  clause  5  an  amendment  Avas  moved  by  Mr.  Tilak 
and  seconded  by  Mr.  Clokhale,  that  the  Imperial 
Council  should  be  elected  by  the  Provincial  Councils, 
instead  of  by  the  Electoral  College.  The  amendment 
is  noteworthy  as  coming  from  two  strong  men, 
speaking  in  the  Congress  for  the  first  time,  men  who 
Avere  to  leaA'e  on  Indian  history  an  ineffaceable  mark. 
'J'lie  amendment  Avas  lost,  as  Avas  another  leaAnng  the 
representatiA'es  of  minorities  to  be  nominated  by 
GoA'ernment.  A  liA^ely  little  incident  then  occurred,  one 
of  the  Musalman  delegates    making  a  violent  speech, 


THE    FIFTH    CONGE  ESS  81 

in  which  he  ckiimed  that  his  co-religionists  should  be 
elected  in  equal  numbers  with  Hindus  although  the 
population  was  smaller  ;  the  proposition  was  seconded, 
but  was  also  opposed  by  Musalmans,  who  regarded  it 
as  unjust;  finally  the  original  clause  was  carried  by 
an  overwhelming  majority  of  both  communities,  and 
the  Congress  was  adjourned. 

The  third  day,  December  28th,  was  overloaded  with 
business,  and  the  Congress,  this  year,  met  for  three 
days  only;  a  meeting  was  fixed  at  6  p.  m.  for  the 
presentation  of  an  address  to  Mr.  Bradlaugh,  so  the 
sitting  had  to  close  at  5.  The  first  business  was  the 
passing  of  Resolution  III,  an  "  Omnibus  Resolution," 
in  which  were  re-afiirmed,  in  ten  clauses,  important 
decisions  arrived  at  in  previous  Congresses.  It  was 
moved  by  Mr.  Kalicharan  Bannerji,  seconded  by  Mr. 
N.  Gr.  Chandavarkar,  and  supported  by  Mr.  S.  B. 
Senkaram,  who  stated  that  he  was  a  Brahmana  and  a 
Volunteer,  having  been  admitted  to  the  Vizagapatam 
Rifle  Volunteer  Corps.  The  Resolution  was  then 
carried. 

Resolution  IV  was  proposed  by  the  Rev.  CI.  M. 
Cobban,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  D.  B.  Wacha,  who 
pointed  out  that  the  House  of  Commons  had  directed 
the  Government  of  India  to  modify  their  excise  policy 
so  as  to  meet  the  wishes  of  the  people ;  after  nine 
months,  however,  the  Government  had  done  nothing. 
The  Rev.  Messrs.  R.  A.  Hume  and  Evans  supported 
it,  and  the  Resolution  was  carried  unanimously. 

Mr.  8.  Ramasvvami  Mudaliar  then  moved  Resolu- 
tion  V,  and  criticised  very  adversely  the  despatch  of 


82  HOW    INDIA    WROUOHT    FOR,    FREEDOM 

the  Secretary  of  State  on  the  Keport  of  the  Public- 
Service  Commission,  making  the  position  of  Indians, 
except  as  to  age,  worse  than  it  was  before  the 
Commission,  for  the  Indian  officials  were  compelled 
either  to  remain  in  the  positions  they  then  held  in 
the  Statutory  Service,  or  to  enter  the  Provincial 
Service,  the  memljers  of  which  were  barred  from  all 
the  higher  executive  offices.  Indians,  he  said,  only 
asked  for  "  a  fair  field  and  no  favour  ^' ;  "  we  want 
the  best  men  we  can  get,  and  if  the  Europeans  can 
beat  the  Indians  in  a  fair  competition,  let  them  do 
so  ".  Mr.  (t.  K.  (lokhale  seconded  the  Resolution, 
and  spoke  plainly  and  sternly,  with  the  ring  of 
steady  purpose  for  which  he  afterwards  became 
famous  : 

Fifty-six  years  have  eoiiie  and  gone  since  the  promise 
was  first  made  tliat  no  distinction  of  race  or  creed  or 
colour  should  be  allowed  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the 
prospects  of  preferment  of  any  native  of  India.  That 
noble  pi'omise  then  made — a  promise  worthy  of  tlie 
highest  and  most  generous  attitude  of  England  towards 
any  of  the  countries  with  whicli  she  has  ever  come  into 
contact — was  reiterated  in  yet  stronger  terms  in  the 
proclamation  of  1858.  The  terms  of  the  enactment  of 
1833  and  of  the  proclamation  of  1858  are  so  explicit  that 
those  who  now  try  to  withhold  from  us  the  privileges 
then  assured  to  us  must  be  prepared  to  face  the  painful 
dilemma  of  hypocrisy  or  treachery — must  be  prepared  to 
admit  that  England  was  insincere  when  she  made  those 
promises,  or  that  she  is  prepared  to  l)reak  faitli  with  us 
now. 

Gentlemen,  you  may  be  aware  that  an  English  Judge 
famous  (or  infamous)  in  a  way,  did  not  scruple  to  accept 
this  latter  position,  and  propound  the  preposterous 
doctrine  that  the  proclamation    of    1858   was  never  meant 


THK    FIFTH    CONGRESS  83 

to  be  seriously  taken.  1  hope  however  that  there  are 
not  many  Englislimen  of  that  kind.  With  these  nolile 
promises  of  1833  and  1858  before  us,  I  ask  you,  are  we 
not  entitled  to  say  that  the  least  we  expect  from  our 
Knglisli  I'ulers  is  that  they  should  always  show  a  steadily 
progressive  tendency  towards  the  fulfilment  of  these  pro- 
mises r* 

Mr.  Gokhale  urged  that  there  were  three  points, 
before  the  Commission  sat,  of  importance  to 
Jndians  :  first,  competitive  examinations;  secondly, 
in  the  Statutory  C^ovenanted  Service,  one-sixth 
of  the  posts,  by  the  enactment  of  1861,  were 
reserved  for  Indians ;  third!}',  the  Uncovenanted 
Service  was  wholly  Indian.  The  Commission  refused 
simultaneous  examinations,  though  "  for  posts  in 
our  own  country,  if  we  are  not  to  be  examined 
in  our  own  country,  I  do  not  know  what  justice  and 
equity  are  ".  Secondly,  only  108  posts,  out  of  941  re- 
served for  the  Govenanted  Service,  instead  of  158,  the 
one-sixth  belonging  to  Indians,  might  be  reserved  for 
Indians  in  the  higher  branch  of  the  Uncovenanted 
Service,  re-named  the  Provincial  Service.  The  Com- 
missioners recommended  that  108  should  be  given  ; 
The  Secretary  of  State  said  may.  "  We  may  be  given 
108  places,  leaving  it  to  the  discretion  of  the  Crovern- 
ment,  and  we  know  what  that  means.  For  every  one 
of  these  108  places  that  we  shall  have,  half  a  dozen 
will  go  to  the  European  official  class."  The  status  of 
Indians  was  distinctly  changed  for  the  worse  by  the 
Commission,  and  this  is  one  of  the  many  cases 
in  which  the  Crown — which  is  not  Crown  but 
Bureaucratic — Government     has     proved     worse    for 


84  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

India  than  the  old  East  India  Company  rvile.  The 
Resolution,  supported  by  Mr.  John  Adam  and 
Mr.  All   Muhammad  Bhimji   was  unanimousl}'  passed. 

The  official  Report  says  that  a  suspicion  is  "begin- 
ning to  gain  ground  in  India,  that  England's  policy 
towards  us  is  changing,  and  is  no  longer  actuated  by 
quite  those  same  noble  and  lofty  motives  that,  in 
bye-gone  days,  threw  a  halo  round  the  British  name". 
That  suspicion  has  grown  during  the  26  years  since 
those  words  were  written.  Mr.  Ali  Muhanmiad  Bhimji 
pointed  to  t]ie  Commission  of  1800,  recommending 
simultaneous  examinations  ;  Lord  Stanley  had  said 
with  regard  to  this,  that 

lie  could  not  "  refrain  from  expressing  his  conviction 
that  in  refusino-  to  carry  on  examinations  in  India  as  Avell 
as  in  Eno'land,  a  thing  that  was  easily  practicable,  the 
Government  wei-e  in  fact  negativing-  that  Avhich  they  liad 
declared  to  be  one  of  the  principal  objects  of  their  Bill, 
and  confining  the  Civil  Service  as  heretofore  to 
Englishmen.  The  result  was  unjust  and  he  believed  it 
would  be  most  pernicious."  Then  again  Lord  Stanley 
further  said:  "Let  them  suppose  for  instance,  that  instead 
of  liolding  these  examinations  here  in  London,  they  Avere 
to  be  held  in  Calcutta  ;  well,  how  many  Englishmen  would 
go  there,  or  how  many  would  send  their  sons  perhaps  to 
spend  two  or  three  years  in  tlie  country,  on  the  chance  of 
obtaining  an  appointment  ?  Nevertheless  that  was 
exactly  the  course  proposed  to  be  adopted  towards  the 
natives  of  India."  These  are  the  opinions  that  were 
expressed  at  the  time,  Avhen  the  Commissioners  came 
to  tlie  conclusion  that  simultaneous  examinations  should 
be  lield  in  India,  and  we  are  asking  nothing  more 
nor  less  than  what  they  decided  in  1860 ;  and  now 
29  years  have  gone  by,  and  the  prospects  then  held 
out  to  us  by  one  of  England's  wisest  statesmen  and 
endoi'sed     by     a     Parliamentary     Commission,     prospects 


THE    FIFTH    CONGRESS  85 

based  upon  our  Gracious  Qneen-Empress'  soleinii 
promises,  have  not  yet  been  realised.  I  know  that  men 
ha\'e  been  found  base  enough — men  traitors  alike  to 
tlieir  Queen  and  country — to  assert  that  our  beloved 
Empress'  words  were  no  promises,  merely  emotional 
utterances  never  intended  to  be  acted  upon.  But  how 
did  an  honest  Eng-lish  statesman  treat  this  dastardly 
stuff  ?  What  did  Lord  Ripon  say  ?  "  The  document 
(Her  Majesty's  Proclamation)  is  not  a  Treaty,  it  is  not  a 
diplomatic  instrument ;  it  is  a  declaration  of  principles  of 
Government ;  if  it  is  oblig-atory  at  all,  it  is  obligatory  in 
respect  to  all  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  The  doctrine, 
therefore,  to  which  Sir  James  Stephen  has  given  the 
sanction  of  his  authority,  I  feel  bound  to  repudiate  to  the 
utmost  of  my  power.  It  seems  to  me  to  be  inconsistent 
with  the  character  of  my  Sovereign  and  with  the  honour 
of  my  country,  and  if  it  were  once  to  be  received  and 
acted  upon  hj  the  Government  of  England,  it  Avould  do 
more  than  anything  else  could  possibly  do  to  strike  at 
the  root  of  our  power  and  to  destroy  our  just  influence." 

Sir  James  Fitzjames  Stephen  was  the  man  of 
wliom  Mr.  Gokhale  spoke  as  "  an  English  Judge 
famous  or  infamous  ".  But  after  all,  Sir  James  has 
proved  right. 

Next  came  our  old  friend  the  Arms  Act  in  Resolu- 
tion VI,  very  carefully  worded  this  year  :  proposed 
by  Mr.  John  Adam,  seconded  by  Lala  Harbhagavan 
Das,  and  supported  l)y  three  others,  it  was  unani- 
mously carried. 

Resolution  VII  was  moved  by  Mr.  Baikunthuatli 
Sen'  in  an  able  and  tlioughtful  speech,  showing  the 
historical  aspect  of  the  question  ;  he  pointed  out 
that  a  famine  in  1860  had  led  to  a  Commission,  which 
reported  in  favour  of  the  Permanent  Settlement,  and 
it  was   approved    in   a   Despatch    from  the  Secretary 


86  HOW    INDIA    WKOITGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

of  State  in  3  862.  There,  however,  it  had  remained. 
Mr.  S.  Snbraniauia  Iyer  seconded,  and  said  that, 
.  "  in  an  inconsiderate  moment,"  he  had  invested  his 
savings  in  land  tifteen  years  before  ;  lie  found  that, 
practically,  all  improvements  were  taxed,  so  he  told 
his  agent  not  to  spend  a  rupee  in  improving  the  land  ; 
the  revisions  prevented  improvements  being  made, 
and  no  recourse  to  the  Courts  against  the  secret 
orders  of  the  Settlement  Department  could  be 
made.  Munshi  Sadar-ud-din  Ahmed,  supporting,  gave 
an  instance  of  a  revision  by  Mr.  Colvin — later 
the  Sir  Auckland  Colvin  who  so  strongly  objected 
to  the  Congress — in  which  the  Government  Revenue 
assessment  made  by  him  on  a  village  exceeded  the 
total  gross  produce  of  the  village.  The  poor 
Zemindai',  finding  Mr.  Colvin  obdurate  to  all  pray- 
ers, presented  a  petition,  saying  that  his  aged  father, 
before  his  death,  had  foretold  the  coming  of  a 
Settlement  Ofhcer  "  in  Avhose  time  the  people  Avould 
be  so  miserable  and  povertj'-stricken  that  in  their 
homes  would  neither  be  heard  the  sound  of  the 
grinding-mill,  nor  the  glimmer  of  the  lamp  be  seen, 
and  that  when  this  came  to  pass  the  best  thing  that 
he  could  do  would  be  to  give  up  nil  his  rights  and 
interests  in  his  villnge  to  the  Coverument,  and  be- 
come a  mendicant  ".  He  therefore  begged  Mr.  Colvin 
to  put  his  own  name  in  all  the  Revenue  papers. 
Many  others  spoke  from  their  own  experience,  and 
complained  of  the  ignorance  of  the  Settlement  Offi- 
cers. "  No  civil  suit  will  lie — there  is  no  remedy 
and     no     justice."       One    inan    siiid    he    was    cruelly 


THE    FIFTH    CONGRESS  87 

over-a.sse.ssed,  and  on  asking  the  officer  to  visit  liis  fields 
and  hear  him  on  the  spot,  he  was  told  by  the  officer 
that  he  "  had  no  time  for  that  sort  of  thing.  No,  they 
have  no  thne  for  anything  but  to  extort  money  out  of 
the  poor."  And  so  the  sad  story  went  on  ;  in  the  old 
times  the  land  assessment  covered  everything,  but 
now  : 

"  There  is  the  same  amount  i)f  water  in  the  pot,  but 
there  are  now  six  holes  tlirough  whicli  it  runs  out,  when 
before   there    was    but    one." 

"  We  had  our  cattle  in  plent}^  lots  of  grazing'  free,  and 
salt  to  keep  them  healthy — now  the  land  is  all  taken  up 
by  the  Forest  Department  and  we  have  no  grazing,  and 
if  the  starving  herds  stray  where  there  is  food,  they  are 
run  into  the  pound  and  we  are  fined." 

"  We  had  plenty  of  wood  for  our  houses,  our  ploughs, 
for  every  agricultural  purpose  ;  now  it  is  all  under  the 
lock  and  key  of  the  Forest  Department,  and  if  we  touch 
it  without  leave  we  are  run  in,  and  if  we  want  a  stick 
we  have  a  week's  running  about  from  one  official  to 
another  before  we  get  it,  and  we  have  to  paj,  pay,  pay. 
We  had  arms,  and  v^e  could  shoot  or  destroy  the  Avild 
beasts  that  ravage  our  crops,  but  now  we  have  an  Arms 
Act  that  allows  a  basket  full  of  arms  to  every  negro  rascal 
Avho  lands  on  our  shores,  but  takes  good  care  that  we  poor 
cultivators,  who  need  them  to  protect  our  subsistence  from 
wild  animals,  ai'e  practically  debarred  from  any." 

The  peasants  are  still  growing  poorer  and  poorer 
under  these  conditions,  while  Land  Revenue  rises. 
Will  none  have  pity  ? 

The  Resolution  was  carried  unanimously. 

Mr.  U.  E.  Wacha  moved  Resolution  VIII,  Avhich  was 
seconded,  and  carried  unanimously.  Thanks  to  IVlr. 
Bradlaugh,  this  Resoluti(jn  was  successful. 


88  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Resolution  IX  was  eminently  reasonable,  and  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  the  good  government  of  India,  but 
the  House  of  Commons  has,  since  India  was  taken 
over  by  the  Crown,  lost  all  interest  in  Indian  affairs. 
Mr.  W.  C.  Bannerji  proposed  and  Mr.  Shurf-ud-din 
seconded.  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  spoke 
earnestly  and  effectively  : 

In  the  year  1883,  the  House  of  Commons  passed  a 
resolution  to  the  effect  that  in  the  opinion  of  that  House 
it  is  necessary  that  early  steps  be  taken  to  reduce  the 
expenditure  of  India.  Lord  Kimberley,  our  then  Secre- 
tary of  State,  in  his  despatch,  dated  the  8th  of  June  1888, 
urged  the  Government  of  India  to  take  the  subject  of  the 
reduction  of  expenditure  into  their  earliest  consideration. 
Lord  Randolph  Churchill,  our  next  Secretary  of  State, 
later  on,  said  that  "  the  financial  position  of  India  was  very 
grave  indeed,  and  required  the  most  careful  consideration, 
and  the  exercise  of  tlie  most  rigid  economy  was  necessary 
in  liis  opinion,  in  order  to  avoid  bankruptcy  ".  But  the 
withdrawal  of  Parliamentary  control  seems  to  have 
emboldened  the  present  Under-Secretary  to  take  up  a 
very  different  attitude.  When  complaints  were  made  on 
the  occasion  of  the  last  debate  on  the  Indian  Budget 
in  the  House  of  Comjnons,  of  the  ever-growing  increase 
of  expenditure  in  India,  Sir  John  Gorst  met  them 
boldly  by  saying  that  "  expenditure  has  increased,  it 
ought  to  increase,  and  it  ought  not  to  be  diminished ". 
And  he  tried  to  justify  this  view  by  asserting  that 
tlie  wealtli  and  prosperity  of  the  country  was  increas- 
ing. Now,  gentlemen,  no  one  would  be  more  delighted 
than  ourselves  to  know  that  the  country  was  really 
growing  in  wealth  and  prosperity.  But  unhappily  the 
stern  reality  of  facts  forbids  us  from  consoling  our- 
selves witli  such  pleasing  fancies.  We  look  wistfully  in 
all  directions;  we  go  deep  into  tlie  Muffasal,  we  see  our 
brethren  in  their  homes  and  huts  as  they  actually  live  ; 
and  far  from  seeing  any  indications  of  that  increasing 
prosperity    whicli    Sir   J.    Gorst  said  he  discerned  at  that 


THE    FIFTH    CONGRESS  89 

distance,  we  find  tlie  people  growing  poorer  and  less  and 
less  able  to  maintain  themselves,  tlieir  wives  and  children, 
than  they  were  before.  And  Ave  therefore  say,  gentlemen, 
that  the  increase  of  expenditure  is  under  existing  circum- 
stances not  only  unjustifiable,  but  positively  sinful.  The 
increase  of  public  expenditure  would  undoubtedly  be 
welcome  if  it  followed  upon  an  increase  of  wealtli 
and  prosperity  among  the  people.  There  has  been  a 
large  increase  of  revenue  in  England  during  the  past 
quarter  of  a  century.  But  it  has  followed  an  enormous 
growth  of  wealth  and  commerce  in  England  and  no  one 
complains  much  of  it.  But  in  India  public  expenditure 
goes  on  increasing,  while  the  condition  of  the  people  is 
deteriorating  day  by  day.  One  simple  but  incontroverti- 
ble proof  of  this  lies  in  the  fact  that  almost  all  the  recent 
additions  to  the  revenue  of  the  Government  have  been 
screwed  out  of  the  first  necessities  of  the  Indian  people. 
To  take  only  the  most  recent  instances  :  increased  expendi- 
ture has  been  met  by  enhancing  the  duty  on  salt,  a  thing 
necessary  alike  to  man  and  cattle  ;  by  taxing  the  poor 
man's  oil,  as  petroleum  has  rightly  been  called  ;  by  imposing 
a  double  tax  on  the  famishing  ryots  of  the  North-Western 
Provinces  and  Oudh  ;  and  by  misappropriating  the  Famine 
Insurance  Fund,  a  fund  especially  created  and  promised 
by  three  Viceroys  to  be  religiously  set  apart  for  meeting 
difficulties  in  times  of  scarcity  and  famine. 

The  Resolution  was  carried  unanimously. 

The  Resolution  of  thanks  to  Lord  Reay,  Governor 
of  Bombay  (X),  was  moved  by  Mr.  J.  U.  Yajnik,  ex- 
Sheriif  of  Bombay,  and  lie  bore  witness  to  the  fact 
that  Lord  Reay's  nominations  reflected  the  wish  of 
Indians  ;  he  had  appointed  Messrs.  Ranade,  Dadabhai 
Naoroji,  Telang,  Dayaram  Jethmal,  Phero/eshah 
Mehta,  and  others  ;  "  never  before  had  such  wisdom 
and  impartiality  been  shown  ".  It  was  supported  by 
the  Hon.  Mr.  C.  Sankaran  Nair,  who  wished  other 
Provinces     the   good    fortune     enjoyed    by    Bombay, 


90  HOW    INDIA    WKOUOHT    FOR    FRKEPOM 

Mr.  H.  A.  Wadia,  who  wished  Lord  Reay  would  return 
as  Viceroy,  and  others,  and  carried  with  acclamation. 

Mr.  Eardley  Norton  moved  Resolution  XI,  because, 
owing  to  a  mistake,  the  Subjects  Committee  had  died 
prematurely;  and  Resolution  XII  re-elected  Mr.  A.  0. 
Hume  as  General  Secretary. 

Resolution  XIII  dealt  with  organisation,  and  the 
number  of  delegates  at  future  Congresses  was  limited 
to  1,000.  In  answer  to  an  appeal  for  the  Rs.  45,000, 
over  Rs.  9,000  was  paid  in  cash,  and  Rs.  56,226  pro- 
mised within  half  an  hour.  The  resolution  was  then 
passed,  and  Nos.  XI V^  and  XV — the  latter  thanking 
Sir  William  Wedderburn  for  coming  from  England 
for  the  Congress — were  quickly  carried.  Ihen,  the 
Fifth  Congress,  with  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Re- 
ception Committee,  dissolved. 

RESOLUTIONS 

I.  Resolved — That  an  address  be  presented  to  Mr.  Clmrles 
Uradlangh,  M.P.,  on  behalf  of  this  Congress  here  assembled,  and 
that  Messrs.  Adam,  Pherozeshah  Melita,  .ind  W.  C.  Baniierji  are 
a]i])oiiited  a  Committee  to  settle  the  wording-  of  the  said  address. 

Representation 

IT.  Resolved — That  tlie  fullowing  skeleton  scheme  for  the 
reform  and  reconstitntion  of  the  Council  of  the  Grovernor-General 
for  making  Laws  and  Regulations,  and  the  Provincial  Legislative 
Councils,  is  adopted,  and  that  the  President  of  this  Congress  do 
submit  the  same  to  Charles  Bradlangh,  Esq.,  M.P.,  with  the 
respectful  request  of  this  Congress  that  he  may  be  pleased  to  cause 
a  Bill  to  be  drafted  on  the  lines  indicated  in  this  skeleton  scheme 
and  introdiK'c  the  same  in  the  British    itousc  of  Commons: 

Scheme 

(1)  The  Imperial  and  Provincial  Legislat  i\(^  Councils  to 
consist  respectively  of  Mendiers  not  less  than  one  half  of  whom  ari^ 
to  be  elected,  not  7nf)re  than  one-fourih  to  si(  I'.r-offirio,  and  the  rest 
to  be  nominateil  bv  (Jovci-nment. 


THE    FIFTH    CONGRESS  91 

(2)  Hoveuue  districis  to  constitute  ordinarily  tcn-itorial  units 
for  electoral  purposes. 

(3)  All  mule  British  subjects  above  21  years  of  age  possessing 
certain  qualifications  and  not  subject  to  certain  disqualifications 
(both  of  which  will  be  settled  later)  to  be  voters. 

(4)  Voters  in  each  district  to  elect  representatives  to  one  or 
more  electoi-al  bodies,  according  to  local  circumstances,  at  the  rate 
of  12  jier  million  of  the  total  population  of  the  district,  such 
representatives  to  possess  certain  qualifications  and  not  to  be  subject 
to  certain  disqualifications,  both  of  which  will  be  settled  later. 

(5)  All  the  representatives  thus  elected  by  all  the  districts 
included  in  the  jurisdiction  of  each  electoral  body,  to  elect  members 
to  the  Imperial  Legislature  at  the  rate  of  1  per  every  five  millions 
of  the  total  population  of  the  electoral  jurisdiction,  and  to  their  own 
Provincial  Legislature  at  the  late  of  1  per  million  of  the  said  total 
population,  in  such  wise  that  whenever  the  Parsis,  Christians, 
Muhammadans  or  Hindus  are  in  a  minority,  the  total  number  of 
Parsis,  Christians,  Muhammadans  or  Hindus,  as  the  case  may  be, 
elected  to  the  Provincial  Legislature,  shall  not,  so  far  as  may  be 
possible,  bear  a  less  proportion  to  the  total  number  of  members 
elected  thereto,  than  the  total  number  of  Parsis,  Christians,  Hindus 
or  Muhammadans,  as  the  case  may  be,  in  such  electoral  jurisdiction, 
bears  to  its  total  population.  Members  of  both  Legislatures  to 
])ossess  certain  qualifications  and  not  to  be  subject  to  certain 
disqualifications  both  of  which  will  be  settled  later. 

(6)  All  elections  to  be  by  ballot. 

XL  Resolved  -That  the  Subjects  Committee  be  instructed  to 
settle  the  questions  (left  open  in  the  skeleton  scheme  for  the 
reconstruction  of  the  Councils,  endjodied  in  Resolution  II),  of  the 
qualifications  requisite  for,  and  the  disqualifications  which 
should  debar  from,  becoming 

(n)  a  Voter; 

(?))  a  Representative  ; 

(r)  a  Member  of    a  Provincial  Legislative  Council  ;  and 

{(i)  a  Member  of  the  Imperial  Legislative  Council  ;  and  to 
submit  their  Report  thereon  to  Charles  Bradlaugh,  Esq.,  M.P.,  for 
t\u'  purposes  of  the  Bill  which  he  has  been  requested  to  have 
drawn. 

Confirmation  of  Previous  Resolutions 

III.  Resolved — That  this  present  Congress  does  herebj'  ratify 
and  confirm    the    resolutions    passed    In-  previous    Congresses  as  to 

(a)  the  urgent  necessity  for  the  complete  separation  of  exe- 
cutive and  judicial  functions,  such  that,  in  no  case,  shall  the  two 
functions  be  combined  in  the  same  officer; 


92  HOW    INDIA    WROrrGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

(b)  the  expediencj'  of  extending  into  many  parts  of  the 
country,  where  it  is  not  at  present  in  force,  the  system  of  trial 
by  jury  ; 

(c)  the  necessity  of  withdrawing  fioni  the  High  Courts  the 
jiowers,  first  vested  in  them  in  1S72,  of  setting  aside  verdicts  of 
acquittal  by  juries  ; 

(d)  the  necessity  of  introducing  into  the  Code  of  Criminal 
Procedure,  a  pi-ovision  enabling  accused  persons,  in  warrant  cases, 
to  demand  that  instead  of  being  tried  by  the  Magistrate,  tliey  l)e 
committed  to  the  Court  of  Sessions  ; 

(c)  tlie  higldy  unsatisfactory  cliaracter  of  the  existing  system 
of  Police  Administration  in  India,  and  the  absolute  necessity  of  a 
fundaTncntal  reform  therein  ; 

(/)  the  expediency  of  both  establishing  Military  Colleges 
in  India,  whereat  the  Natives  of  India,  as  defined  by  statute,  may  be 
educated  and  trained  for  a  military  car(>er  as  officers  of  the  Indian 
Army,  and  of  authorising,  under  such  rules  and  restrictions  as  may 
seem  necessaiy,  such  a  system  of  volunteering  for  the  Indian 
inhabitants  of  the  country,  as  may  qualify  them  to  sup])ort  the 
(xovernment  in  any  crisis  ; 

(g)  the  extremely  unsatisfactory^  character  of  the  Income  Tax 
Administration,  especially  as  regards  incomes  below  Rupees  one 
thousand,  and  the  expediency  of  raising  tlie  taxable  miuinuim  to 
this  amount ; 

(/( )  the  extreme  importance  of  increasing,  instead  of  diminish- 
ing, as  the  present  tendency  appears  to  be,  the  public  expenditure  on 
education  in  all  its  branches,  and  the  necessity,  in  view  to  the 
])romotion  of  one  of  the  most  essential  of  these  branches,  the 
technical,  of  the  appointment  of  a  mixed  Commission  to  enquire  into 
tlie  present  industrial  condition  of  the  country  ; 

(/)  the  impolicy  and  injustice  involved  in  the  iate  increase  of 
the  Salt  Tax  in  a  time  of  profound  peace,  and  the  urgent  necessity 
for  an  immediate  reduction  of  this  tax,  and  the  reimposition,  to 
balance    the    deficit    thus  caused,  of  light  ad  valorem  import  duties  ; 

{■j)  the  necessity  for  the  reduction  of,  instead  of  the  continual 
increase  to,  the  militaiy  exjicndituro  of  the  country. 

Temperance 

IV.  Resolv(?d — 'I'hat  this  Congress  hereby  tenders  its  sincere 
thanks  to  Messrs.  Caine  and  Smith,  and  the  membei-s  who  voted 
with  them,  in  connec^tion  with  the  debate  on  the  Indian  Excise 
Question  in  the  House  of  Commons;  and  while  fully  appreciating 
what  has  been  done  by  some  of  the  local  (Toveriunents  towards  the 
im|)roveTTient  of  their  systems  of  Excise  and  Abkari,  di^sires  to 
expri'ss  the  earnest  hojie  that  no  further  time  nmy  be  lost  in  giving 
full  effect  to  the  Resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons. 


THE    FIFTH    CONGRESS  93 

Public  Service 

V.  Resolved — That  tliis  Congress,  while  thanking  Her  Majes- 
ty's Government  for  raising  the  age  for  the  Indian  Civil  Service 
Competitive  Examination  from  19  to  23,  does  hereby  put  on  recoi'd 
an  emphatic  expression  of  the  universal  disappointment  which  has 
been  created  by  the  I'est  of  that  Government's  orders  in  regard  to 
the  Public  Service  Question  (the  net  result  of  which  orders  is  t(j 
place  the  people  of  India  in  a  worse  position  than  they  previously 
held),  and  reiterates  the  National  conviction  that  no  x-eal  justice 
will  be  done  to  India,  in  this  matter,  until  the  simultaneous  holding 
in  India  and  in  England,  of  all  Examinations  for  all  Civil  branches 
of  the  Public  Service  in  India,  at  jiresent  held  only  in  England, 
be  conceded. 

Military 

VI.  Resolved---That  in  view  of  the  loyalty  of  the  jieojjle,  tlit^ 
lijinlships  that  the  Arms  Act,  (XI  of  1878),  as  at  present  adminis- 
tered, entails,  and  the  uumei-ited  slur  which  it  casts  upon  them, 
the  Government  be  moved  so  to  modify  tlie  rules  made  under  this 
Act  that  all  restrictions  as  to  the  possession  and  bearing  of  ai-ms 
shall  apply  equally  to  all  persons  residing  in  or  visiting  India ; 
that  licences  to  possess  and  bear  arms  shall  be  liberally  and 
generally  distributed  wherever  wild  animals  habitually  destroy 
huDian  life,  cattle  or  crops,  and  that  these  and  all  licences  issued 
under  the  rules  shall  be  granted  once  for  all,  shall  operate  through- 
out the  Provincial  jurisdiction  witliin  which  they  are  issued,  be 
only  revocable  on  proof  of  misuse,  and  shall  not  require  yearly  or 
half-yearly  renewals. 

Permanent  Settlement 

VII.  Resolved — That  the  Government  he  urged  to  take  the 
subject  of  a  Permanent  Settlement  once  more  under  consideration 
in  view  to  practical  action  thereon,  such  that  fixity  and  permanency 
may  be  given  to  the  Government  Land  Revenue  demand  without 
further  delay,  at  any  rate  in  all  fully  populated  and  well  cultivated 
tructs  of  country. 

Silver  Duties 

VIII.  Resolved — That  in  view  of  the  fall  that  has  already 
occurred  in  the  price  of  silver  and  in  the  exchange  value  of  the 
Indian  Ru))ee,  it  is  impolitic  on  the  part  of  the  British  Government 
to  maintain  any  hindrances  whatever  to  the  consumption  of  silver 
for  manufacturing  purposes:  and  that  this  Congress  strongly  urges 
upon  Her  Majesty's  Government  that,  not  only  as  an  act  of  jiistice 
to  India  (a  matter  which  has  been  rejieatedly  brought  to  the  notice 
of  Her  Majesty's  Ministers)  but  also  as  an  act  of  expediency  in 
the  interests  of  Her  Majesty's  British  as  well  as  Indian  subjects, 
the  plate  duties  should  be  immediately  abolished,  and  hall-marking 
be  made  a  voluntary  institution. 


94  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Grievances  before  Supply 


IX.  Resolved — Tliat  tliis  Congress  lespeclfiillv  expresses  tlic 
earnest  hope  tliat,  in  the  interest  of  the  ])Cople  of  India,  the  House 
of  Coiinnons  will  forthwith  restore  the  ri^lit,  formerly  possessed  by 
members  of  that  Honourable  House,  of  stating  to  Parliament  any 
matter  of  grievance  of  the  natives  of  India  before  Mr.  Speaker 
leaves  the  Chair  for  the  presentation  in  Committee  of  the  Indian 
Budget  statement,  and  earnestly  trusts  that  the  House  of  Commons 
will,  in  future,  take  into  consideration  the  Annual  Indian  Budget 
statement  at  such  a  date  as  will  ensure  its  full  and  adequate 
discussion,  and  further  authorises  the  President,  Sir  William 
Wetlderburn,  Bart.,  to  sign  a  Petition  in  the  name  and  on  behalf  of 
this  Congress  for  presentation  to  the  House  of  Commons  in  accord- 
ance with  the  terms  of  this  Resolution. 

Congress  Constitution 

Xlll.     Resolved— 

((')  That,  ill  view  of  the  large  nuniljer  of  delegates  tliis  year 
assembled  and  the  probability,  arising  from  past  experience,  of 
their  number  continuing  to  increase  year  by  year,  hencefortli  the 
number  of  delegates  to  be  allowed  from  each  Congress  circle  be 
limited  to  five  per  million  of  the  total  population  of  the  circle  : 
the  Standing  Committee  of  each  circle  allotting  the  number  which 
their  jurisdiction,  as  a  whole,  is  entitled  to  elect,  amongst  their 
several  electoral  divisi  'lis,  as  may  s-  em  most  expedient. 

(h)  That  from  the  date  of  Mr.  Hume's  departure  for  Eng- 
land, the  Hon.  Pandit  Ayodhyanath  be  ajipointed  Joint  General 
Secretary,  and  that  Rs.  5,00(J  be  assigned  for  the  ])ayment  by  him 
of  such  Assistant  Secretaries  as  he  may  Mud  it  necessary  to  enijiloy, 
clerical  assistance,  postage,  telegraphs,  and  printing,  and  further 
that  Mr,  W.  C.  Bannerji  be  appointed  Standing  Counsel  for 
Bengal,  Mr.  Pherozeshah  Mehta,  Standing  Counsel  for  Bt)mbay, 
and  Mr.  Anaiida  Charlu,  Standing  Counsel  for  Madras,  to  the  Joint 
General  Secretary. 

(c)  That  the  tentative  rules  for  tiie  constitution  and  working 
of  the  Congress  which  were  first  considered  at  Madras,  and  in  regard 
to  which  various  addenda  have  from  time  to  time  been  circulated, 
be  thoroughly  considered  during  the  coining  year  b3'  the  sevei-al 
Standing  Congress  Committees,  and  definitely  dealt  with  by  the 
Congress  at  its  next  session. 

((/)  That  this  Congress  does  herebv  confirm  the  a])iiointnient 
of  Sir  W.Wedderbum,  Bart.,  and  Messrs.  W.  S.  Caine,  M.P.,  W.  S. 
Bright  Maclaren,  M.P.,  J.  E.  Ellis,  M.P.,  Dadabhai  Naoroji  and  George 
Yule,  as  a  Committee  (with  power  to  add  to  their  number)  to  guide 
and  direct  the  operations  and  control  the  expenditure  of  the  National 


] 


THK    FIFTH    CONGIJKSS  95 

Congress  Agency  in  England,  and  does  further  tender  its  sincere 
thanks  to  these  gentlemen,  and  to  Mr.  W.  Digby,  C.I.E.,  the 
Secretary,  for  the  service  which  they  are  rendering  to  India. 

(e)  That  this  Congress  does  formally  ap])oint  Mr.  George 
Yule,  Mr.  A.  (3.  Hume,  Mr.  .-Vdam,  Mr.  Eardley  Norton,  Mr.  .J.  E. 
Howard,  Mr.  Pherozesliah  Mehta,  Mr.  Siirendi-nnath  Bannerji, 
Mr.  Mauo  Mohan  Ghose,  Mr.  Shnrf-ud-din,  Mr.  X.  Miulholkar,  and 
Mr.  W.  C.  Bannerji  to  represent  its  views  in  England,  and  press 
upon  the  consideration  of  the  British  Public  the  political  reform 
which  the  Congress  has  advocated. 

(/)  That  a  sum  of  Rs.  45,000  be  raised  for  the  ex])enses  of 
the  Congress  Work  in  this  country  and  in  England  during  the 
ensuing  year,  and  that  the  different  Standing  Committees  do  seiid 
their  respective  apportioned  amounts  to  the  General  Secretary,  the 
one  half  in  three,  and  the  balance  in  six  months. 

Thanks  of  Congress 

X,  Resolved — That  in  view  to  his  approaching  departure,  this 
Congi'ess  puts  on  record  an  expression  of  the  high  sense  entertained, 
not  only  in  the  Bombay  Presidency  but  throughout  India,  of  the 
ability,  integrity  and  impartiality  that  have  characterised  Lord 
Rcay's  administration,  as  also  of  the  gratitude  which  the  whole 
countrj'  feels  to  be  his  due  for  the  sympathy  that  he  has  ever  ex- 
tended to  Indian  aspirations  and  efforts. 

XV.  Resolved — That  the  Fifth  Indian  National  Congress 
hereby  tenders  its  heart-felt  thanks  to  its  President,  Sir  William 
Wedderburn,  as  well  for  his  ready  sacrifice  of  personal  and  political 
considerations  involved  by  his  journey  from  England  to  India,  as 
for  that  courtesy,  im])artiality  and  never  failing  sympathy,  which 
characteristics  of  his  long  and  honourable  career  as  an  official  of 
this  coniitry,  have  marked  his  control  of  the  proceedings  of  this 
assembly. 

Formal 

XIV.  Resolved — That  the  Sixth  Indian  National  Congress 
do  assemble  at  some  City  in  Bengal,  the  exact  place  to  be  fixed 
hereafter,  on  the  26th  of  December,  1890. 

XII.  Resolved— That  Mr.  A.  0.  Hume,  C.B.,  be  re-elected 
General  Secretary  of  the  National  Indian  Congress  for  the  ensuing 
year. 


96  HOW    INDIA    WROUfiHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

CHARLES  BRADLAUGH,  M.P. 

The  presentation  of  the  Couufress  address  to  Mr. 
Charles  Bradlaugh,  M.P.,  took  place  on  the  same 
evening,  December  28th,  at  7  p.m.  The  table  on 
the  platform — 18  feet  by  4^  feet — was  piled  up  from 
end  to  end  with  addresses  in  caskets  of  Indian  work, 
rugs,  mats,  carvings,  sent  from  every  part  of  India, 
In-ought  in  many  case.s  by  poor  men,  who  had  come 
hundreds  of  miles  to  give  them.  Characteristically, 
he  would  not  accept  valuable  gifts,  such  as  a  splendid 
Kashmir  shawl.  Mr.  Pherozeshah  Mehta  was  voted 
to  the  chair,  and  made  a  brief  speech,  voicing  India's 
love  and  gratitude  for  ''  the  high  and  unselfish  endea- 
vours "  of  one  who  was  a  stranger  to  them,  to 
promote  India's  "  welfare,  its  prosperity  and  its  best 
interests  '\ 

Sir  William  Wedderlmrn  i-ead  the  address  of  the 
Congress  : 

To  Charles  T3riullnnL;li,  Esq.,  Member  for  Nortlianiptoii 
in  tlie  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireliuid. 

Sir, — On  behalf  of  the  Fiftli  Indian  National  Congress, 
assembled  at  B()nil)ay,  we  bef>-  to  offer  you  our  united  and 
most  lu'ai'tfelt  welcome,  and  through  you  we  desire  to 
convey  our  thanks  to  tlie  (^lectors  of  Nortlumipton  who 
have  permitted  you  to  esjxmsc  the    cause  of  India. 

You  come  to  us  a  straiii^er  in  person,  not  repute.  Kor 
your  disinterested  advocacy  of  the  claims  (founded  on  the 
unaiisweral)le  demands  of  Iniman  progre.ss  and  the  solemn 
promises  of  tlieir  Queen)  preferred  by  millions— -whose 
appeals  for  justice  liave  evoked  a  widespi'ead  response 
since  you  a)'oused  the  people  of  Great  Uritain  into  a 
sympatlietic    i-ecoonitiiin  nf    Indiii's    needs      will    eiislirine 


THE    FIFTH    CONGRESS  97 

your  name  for  all  time  in  the  proudest  and  most  imperish- 
able of  huma.n  homes,  the  hearts  and  traditions  of  a 
loving-  and  a  grateful  race. 

Brilliant  as  was  the  tribute  of  national  respect  which 
your  illness  elicited  from  the  fellow-countrymen  who  for 
long  years  had  been  the  daily  spectators  of  your  labours 
and  your  triumphs  in  England,  you  have  won,  Sir,  in  the 
mental  distress  and  prayerful  anxiety  with  which  the 
population  of  India  followed  you  in  the  tribulation  of  your 
sickness,  a  homage  the  more  unique  and  tender  that  it  is 
not  matched  in  the  recorded  history  of  any  living  states- 
man. They  have  appreciated  the  unflinching  courage 
with  which,  throughout  your  political  career,  you  have 
confronted  error  and  have  championed  truth.  You  have 
enchained  their  admiration  by  your  inalienable  fidelity  to 
the  popular  cause. 

Proud  in  your  possession  of  such  qualities,  and 
thankful  for  your  efforts  in  our  cause,  we  trust  that  you 
may  be  spared  to  complete  the  great  work  j'ou  have 
begun,  and  to  read  the  vindication  of  your  generous 
interpretation  of  our  political  aspirations,  as  well  in  the 
ever  closer  union  of  India  and  of  England,  as  in  the 
quickened  vigour  and  expanding  energies  of  a  country 
regenerated  by  the  partial  redemption  of  pledges  too 
long  permitted  to  remain  unfulfilled. — We  have,   etc. 

In  reply,  Mr.  Bradlaugh   said  : 

Sir  William,  and  Delegates  of  the  Indian  National 
Congress,  I  thank  you  not  so  much  for  myself,  for  I  have 
not  yet  deserved  the  tribute  you  pay  me.  I  thank  you 
for  my  Electors,  without  whom  I  should  not  have  the 
right  to  do  all  the  work  I  do.  And  in  their  name,  and 
because  I  believe  that  their  example  will  be  followed 
by  other  constituencies,  I  feel  grateful  to  you,  and  only 
do  not  translate  my  gratitude  into  words  because  no  words 
can  express  what  I  feel. 

A   few    of   the    caskets     only    were    taken    up,    as 
.  specimens  of  all,   and  a  few  of  the  articles  of  Indian 
9 


98  HOW    IKDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

manufacture  were  presented,  and  a  list  of  some  of 
the  places,  sending  addresses  and  gifts,  was  read.  An 
hour  Avas  occupied  in  even  this  slight  summarising, 
for,  as  the  Report  says,  "  there  was  scarcely  a  town 
of  any  size  "  from  which  an  address  had  not  been 
sent.     Mr.  Bradlaugh  then  rose  and  said  : 

Friends,  fellow-subjefts,  and  fellow-citizens  !  I  ad- 
dress you  as  friends,  for  the  g-reeting  you  have  given  me 
entitles  me  to  use  the  same  language  to  you  as  I  would 
use  to  those  at  home,  and  you  have  made  me  feel  since  I 
have  been  in  Bombay  that  the  word  "  home  "  has  a  wider 
significance  than  I  had  given  it.  I  have  learned  that  if 
1  have  only  a  little  home,  I  have  a  larger  one  in.j'our 
sympathies  and  in  your  affections,  and,  as  I  trust  to  de- 
serve by  future  work,  in  your  love.  I  address  yoti  as 
fellow-subjects  ;  we  are  here  loyal  to  one  rule  with  the 
best  of  loyalty.  That  is  no  real  loyalty  which  is  only 
blind  submission.  Real  loyalty  means  that  the  governed 
"he.lp  the  governors  *T:»y  leaving  lifEte  for  the  Government 
to  do.  Real  loyalty  means  that  the  claim  of  right  is 
made  with  the  consciousness  of  duty  ;  and  I  feel  proud  to 
"be  a  fellow-subject  with  you  in  the  hope  that  the  phrase 
fellow-citizens  may  grow  into  a  reality  even  l)efore  my 
life-time  ends.  I  pray  your  indulgence  to-night,  for 
it  is  the  first  speech  I  liave  made  since  I  looked  into  the 
blackness  of  the  grave,  and  I  am  not  sure  how  far  I  can 
trust  my  tongue  to  interpret  what  I  would  wish  to  say. 
Of  one  thing  I  am  sure,  you  have  overrated  alike  my  work 
and  my  ability.  (No,  No.)  I  pray  you,  be  as  indulgent  to 
me  as  you  have  been  generous  ;  and  if  you  disagree  with 
what  I  say,  let  me  say  it  in  my  own  poor  fashion,  so  that 
you  may  find  at  least  my  meaning  clear  to  you.  I  am 
only  here  as  a  visitor  l)y  your  courtesy,  a  member  of  a 
great  assem1)ly,  tlie  Mother  of  Parliaments  in  the  world, 
of  which  1  am  one  of  the  poorest  members  ;  and  as  to  any 
force  that  I  may  luive  had  in  advocating  the  cause  of 
those  to  whom  I  beh)ng  at  home,  let  me  say  1  was  sorry 
to   hear    tliat    I   w.is    lliaukcd   foi'  my  work  in  the  })opuhir 


THE    FIFTH    CONGRESS  99 

cause.  For  whom  should  I  work,  if  not  for  the  people  ? 
Born  of  the  people,  trusted  by  the  people,  I  will  die 
of  the  people.  And  I  know  no  geographical  or  race 
liuaitations.  If  the  Nationality — pardon  the  word — to 
which  I  am  proud  to  belong  has  raised  its  Empire,  the 
rule  carries  with  it  the  duty  on  the  part  of  every  citizen 
to  recognise  that  which  I  recognise  in  you,  a  lawful  con- 
stitutional association  for  the  assertion  of  your  just  claims 
and  for  the  advancement  of  your  homes  and  interests. 

I  will  ask  you  not  to  expect  too  much.  One 
man  is  only  a  water-drop  in  the  ocean  of  human  life  : 
you  are  the  breeze  driving  the  water-drop  on  the 
western  side  of  the  seas  and,  by  your  encouragement, 
adding  others  to  it,  and  giving  it  a  force  that  shall  wash 
it  into  the  old  rock  of  prejudice  that  hindered,  you  will 
make  those  on  the  other  side  hear,  as  I  have  heard,  the 
clear  English  sounds,  which  show  that  you  share  our 
language,  our  traditions,  and  our  hopes,  and  are  willing 
to  work  with  us  and  to  make  common  cause  w^ith  us. 

Not  only  do  not  expect  too  much,  but  do  not  expect 
all  at  once.  Great  as  this  assembly  is  in  its  suggestive- 
ness,  by  its  delegates  travelling  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  miles,  you  are  yet  only  the  water-drop  of  the  two 
hundred  and  ten  millions  whom  you  number  under  our 
Empire,  yours  and  mine — not  mine  against  yours,  not 
English  against  Indian,  but  our  common  Empire  for 
common  purposes.  Don't  be  disappointed  if,  of  a  just 
claim,  only  something  is  conceded.  It  is  new,  but  shall 
be  every  day  coming  ;  it  is  new,  but  you  have  those  who 
stand  in  the  House  of  Commons  to  plead  for  you  ;  not  I 
alone,  but  members  as  devoted  to  you  as  I  can  possibly 
be ;  and  I  hope  soon  to  see  added  to  their  ranks,  with  the 
authority  of  his  knowledge  and  of  the  position  which  his 
presiding  here  has  given  him — Sir  William  Wedderburn. 
I  would  remind  you,  as  an  encouragement  to  you  to  be 
patient,  that  in  England  great  reforms  have  always  been 
slowly  won.  Those  who  first  enterprised  them  were 
called  seditious,  and  sometimes  sent  to  gaol  as  criminals  ; 
but  the  speech  and  thought  lived  on.  No  imprisonment 
can   crush  a  truth  ;  it  may  hinder  it  for  a  moment,  it  may 


100  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

delay  it  for  an  hour,  but  it  gets  an  electric  elasticity 
inside  the  dungeon  walls,  and  it  grows,  and  moves  the 
whole  world  when  it  conies  out.  Your  presence  here 
to-day  confutes  and  answers  in  anticipation  one  sneer 
that  I  have  heard  spoken  within  tlie  walls  of  Parliament. 
It  is  said  :  "  There  is  no  Indian  Nation,  there  can  be  no 
Indian  National  Congress  ;  there  is  no  Indian  people, 
there  are  only  two  hundred  millions  of  diverse  races  and 
diverse  creeds."  The  lesson  I  read  here  is  that  this 
Congress  movement  is  an  educational  movement,  hammer- 
ing upon  the  anvil  of  millions  of  men's  brains,  until  it 
welds  into  one  common  Avhole  men  whose  desire  for 
political  and  social  reforms  is  greater  than  all  distinctions 
of  race  and  creed. 

It  will  be  my  duty,  as  it  is  my  right,  to  present  to 
Parliament  directly  I  get  back,  on  the  very  day  of  its 
opening,  the  claim  you  make  to  have  the  Bill  considered. 
On  the  second  day  the  Bill  will  be  introduced.  For  so 
much  I  can  answer  ;  but  I  can  answer  for  nothing  more. 
I  think  it  is  possible  the  Government  may  introduce 
some  Bill  themselves.  If  they  do,  it  will  take  precedence 
of,  but  it  will  not  avoid,  the  one  you  have  charged  me 
with  ;  because  the  Grovernment  Bill,  in  Committee,  will 
come  under  the  discussion  of  Parliament  on  every  one 
of  the  propositions  that  you  desire  in  the  Bill  you  have 
charged  me  with.  It  is  not  easy  work.  There  are 
differences ;  and  I  have  been  glad  to  see  that  you  can 
meet  and  discuss  differences  as  you  have  done.  You 
have  shown  that  you  can  meet  together  and  listen  to  one 
another,  and  that  you  are  Avorthy  of  public  trust,  and 
the  right  of  electing  and  being  elected,  to  help  to  make 
the  laws  which  you  so  discuss. 

Then  you  may  take  it  that  on  your  own  Bill,  or  the 
Government  Bill,  this  decision  of  the  House  of  Commons 
will  be  taken.  You  can  help  that  decision  ;  j^ou  have  a 
constitutional  right,  not  of  coming  into  the  House  and 
l)eing  heard  yourselves,  but  of  sending  your  petitions 
there  from  every  division,  from  far  oft"  Sindh,  from  every 
part  ;  and  I  would  ask  you,  if  you  want  to  make  me 
really  your  mouthpiece   in   that   House,    send  signatures 


r 


THE    FIFTH    CONGRESS  101 


to  petitions  which  you  understand,  by  the  thousand,  by 
the  hundred  thousand,  by  the  million,  if  you  can,  so  that 
India's  people  may  kneel — and  there  is  no  shame  in 
kneeling — on  the  threshold  where  the  Mother  of  Parlia- 
ments sits,  and  ask  that  she  may  do  the  same  justice  to 
those  six,  seven  or  eight  thousand  miles  away  that  she 
has  done  to  those  who  can  assemble  and  make  themselves 
heard  with  the  living-  voice. 

We — you  will  permit  me  to  say  "  we  "  although  I 
am  only  a  guest — are  here  engaged  in  no  seditious  move- 
ment. We  are  not  even  seeking  (though  if  we  did,  there 
would  be  no  great  crime  in  the  high  endeavour)  to 
transplant  the  democratic  Institutions  of  England  to  this 
land.  We  are  only  seeking  in  the  hill  which  is  hard  to 
climb,  to  carve  steps  in  which  the  strongest  may  stand, 
and  through  coming  generations  help  the  weaker  brethren 
to  higher  posts.  It  is  said  that  there  are  many  who 
stand  aloof  from  this  movement.  I,  looking  at  you, 
wonder  that  in  its  infancy  so  many  have  joined  in  it.  It 
is  said  that  there  are  influential  men  of  this  party  and 
of  that  who  have  not  yet  come.  Oh  !  but  the  sun's 
rays  grow  as  the  sun  rises.  You  are  the  dawn  ;  I  see  the 
day  ;  and  I  do  not  count  the  rays  which  are  yet  below  the 
horizon,  but  I  take  account  of  the  gilding  of  the  clouds 
from  the  rays  that  I  see. 

I  feel  that  I  should  like  to  have  the  title  that  some 
have  given  me  in  sneer,  and  some  in  hearty  meaning,  of 
"  Member  for  India ".  Dead  men,  whose  measure  I 
cannot  hope  to  cope  with,  have  partly  held  that  title. 
But  I  should  love  to  hold  it,  not  simply  by  great  efforts 
made  on  great  occasions,  Ijut  by  simple  doings  whenever 
there  is  injustice  to  be  touched.  I  know  how  little  one 
can  do,  but  little  though  one  man  can  do,  I  will  tell  you 
what  he  can  do.  When,  after  rain  and  storm,  the  waters 
have  gathered,  one  man  may  make  a  little  boring  through 
which  the  water  begins  to  percolate  that  washes  all 
away ;  and  I  will  try  to  be  that  one  m.an,  leaving 
greater  ones  than  I  can  ever  be  to  swim  on  the  tide  when 
the  water  flows. 


102  now  INDIA  wROiionr  i'X)ii  fijeedom 

I  am  here,  because  I  believe  you  loyal  to  tlie  law  vvliii^li 
I  am  bound  to  support.  I  am  here,  because  I  beh'evo  you 
wish,  as  we  in  hjUfyhmd  have  done,  to  win  witliin  the 
limits  of  the  Constitution  the  most  perl'ect  ecjuality  and 
rii^ht  for  all.  I  have  no  riglit  to  offer  advice  to  you  ;  but 
if  1  had,  and  if  I  dared,  1  would  say  to  you,  men  from 
lands  almost  as  scpai-ate,  althou<j;h  within  your  own  con- 
tinent, as  Knoland  is  from  you  ;  1  would  say  to  you, 
men  with  race  traditions  and  caste  views  and  religious 
differences  ;  that  in  a.  j^reat  Empire  like  ours,  all  we  have 
the  rifj^ht  to  is  equality  before  the  law  for  all,  equality  of 
opportunity  for  all,  equality  of  expression  for  all,  penalty 
on  none,  favoritism  to  none  ;  and  1  believe  that  in  this 
L?reat  ConoTess  1  see  tlie  i^'erm  of  tluit  which  may  be  as 
fruitful  ;is  the  most  hopeful  tree  that  grows  under  your 
sun. 

I  am  glad  to  see  that  you  have  women  amongst  you, 
glad,  altliougli  they  are  few  ;  glad,  for  they  are  your 
mothers  and  teach  your  cliildren  ;  glad,  for  in  our  land 
tlie  wives  may  count  through  their  luisbands,  and  gr-eat 
thoughts  and  great  endeavours  are  not  made  less  because 
the  man  turns  to  the  woman  for  counsel  in  his  hour  of 
need,  and  thus  makes  the  woman   stronger  than  the  man. 

I  fear  1  have  already  spoken  to  you  too  long,  if  not 
for  you,  at  any  rate,  for  myself.  I  beg  you — the  most 
eloquent  whom  I  have  heard  among  you — to  put  into 
your  own  words  and  your  own  thoughts  what  you  would 
have  me  say  of  hope  for  you  ;  and  let  that  })e  said.  One 
thing  be  sure  of  :  I  will  only  advocate  the  right.  J  must 
judge  the  right  I  advocate,  and  I  may  not  always  judge 
it  as  you  do  ;  but  as  long  as  you  let  me  speak  for  you,  I 
will  only  speak  that  which  seems  to  me  to  be  right  and 
true.  In  this  movement  no  force  save  the  force  of  brain  ; 
no  secret  union  ;  all  <jpen,  frank,  before  the  Law.  So  far 
as  one  man  may,  and  so  far  as  one  nnan's  speech 
can  do,  Englisli  liberty  shall  put  itself  f)n  the  side 
of  yours.  This  is  the  first,  and  it  may  be  the  last, 
speech  that  I  may  ever  make  to  you  ;  but  let  me  beg 
of     you     to     tliird<,     .ind      let     me     thirds,    tli;it    you    are 


TUV.    V]VTJT    nONORESB  103 

lisieiiiii*^',  iiiid  that,  if  I  do  riglitly,  you  will  ])e 
<j;'eiiei'ous  with  inc  in  your  judgiueiit  ;  aud  that  even  if 
1  do  not  always  ])Iead  with  the  voice  that  you  would 
speak  with,  you  will  believe  that  J  have  done  my  best, 
iirid  that  1  meant  my  best  to  be  f^rcater  happiness  for 
India's  people;,  greatei-  peace  for  Britain's  rule,  f^reater 
coiid'oi't  I'oi"  tlie  whole  of  Britain's  su})jeets. 

'J'lie  wliolo  speech  was  punctiiiited  witli  clieers 
wliicli  we  have  omitted;  we  Iiave  only  inserted  one 
cry,  wliei'e  it  was  needed  to  explain  tlie  words  wliich 
followed,  '^riie  sp(H*cli  was  closed  wiili  tuniultuous 
aj)pliiuse- — his  lii'st  speecli  in   India,  and  alas!  liis  la,st. 


CHAPTER  VI 


The  Sixth  Congress  met  at  Calcutta  in  the  Tivoli 
Grardens,  in  a  big  temporary  Hall — into  which  8,000 
people  managed  to  crowd  themselves — on  December 
26th,  1890,  and  it  sat  for  four  days,  the  26th,  27th, 
29th,  and  30th  December,  the  Congress  Hall  being 
lent  on  the  28th  to  the  Social  Conference.  The  list 
shows  the  names  of  677  delegates  made  up  as  fol- 
lows : 


Beng-al  ... 

N.  W.   P.   and  Oudh 

Panjab  ... 

Bombay 

Berar,  C.   P.,  and  Secunderabad 

Madras ... 


Without  Certificates  . . . 


377 
148 

18 
47 
29 

58 

677 
25 

702 


The  limitation  of  the  numbers  of  delegates,  decided 
by  the  previous  Congress,  had  been  carried  out  ; 
at  5  delegates  per  million  of  population,  (see  Re- 
solution XIII  [a]  1889).  995  delegates  should  have 
been    elected  ;    a    little    over    1,000  were  elected,  as  a 


THE    SIXTH    CONGRESS 


105 


matter  of  fact,  but  only  702  attended,  of  whom  25  did 
not  register  with  the  required  certificates,  and  so 
their  names  were  omitted.  But  that  the  popular 
interest  was  undiminished  was  shown  by  the  packing 
of  the  Hall,  the  largest  that  had  yet  been  erected, 
7,000  visitors  attending  on  the  first  day,  and  the 
number  being  never  less  than  4,000.  The  Report  says 
that  many  of  these  came  from  other  Provinces,  and 
would  have  been  counted  as  delegates  but  for  the 
enforcement  of  the  demand  for  certificates  of  elec- 
tion. The  feeling  of  resentment  against  the  wrongs 
under  which  India  was  suffering  had  increased  con- 
siderably, and  it  is  well  to  recognise  the  long  growth 
of  this  feeling  until  it  developed  into  the  "  unrest," 
which  formed  so  prominent  a  feature  of  the  first 
decade  of  the  twentieth  century,  and  finally  gave 
birth  to  a  party  which  sought,  in  despair,  the  break- 
ing of  the  English  connexion.  Only  the  concession 
of  the  reforms  of  1910  revived  the  hopes  of  the 
Constitutionalists,  and  enabled  them  to  remain  firm 
in  their  declared  creed  of  Self-Government  within 
the  Empire.  In  1890,  there  was  angry  opposition 
in  India  to  the  trans-frontier  policy  then  in  favour, 
and  especially  to  the  cruel  invasion  of  Afghanistan, 
which  caused  so  much  misery.  The  official  report 
of  the  Congress  of  1890  concluded  with  the  following 
indictment  : 

Although  our  present  Viceroy  seems  not  only  desirous 
of  seeing  and  judging  for  himself,  but  thoroughly  imbued 
with  the  true  spirit  of  Liberalism  ;  although  in  every 
Province  there  remain  still  some  faithful  few,  who 
deprecate  and  deplore  all  the  evil  that  is  on  foot ;  although 


106  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

throughout  Great  Britain  signs  appear  that,  here  and 
there,  her  people  are  commencing  to  realise  the  grave 
responsibility  in  regard  to  India  which  has  devolved  upon 
them,  the  administration  of  India  still  remains,  alas  !  as  a 
whole,  "  linked  with  some  virtues  but  a  thousand  crimes  ". 
Millions  of  educated  and  patriotic  men  (than  whom  no 
more  loyal  or  loving  subjects  are  numbered  in  the  vast 
J]mpire  that  owns  the  sway  of  our  beloved  Queen-Empress) 
are  treated  as  political  helots  to  gratify  the  class 
prejudices  and  amour  propre  and  fill  the  pockets  of  a 
handful  of  bureaucrats,  the  average  men  amongst  whom 
are,  positively,  less  qualified  for  rule,  in  India,  than  a  very 
considerable  proportion  of  those  whom  J]ngland  permits 
them  to  misgovern. 

India's  people,  free-born  British  subjects,  are  denied 
the  smallest  fraction  of  those  fundamental  political 
privileges  which,  as  British  citizens,  are  their  inherent 
birthright. 

Ninety-five  per  cent  of  all  the  most  important  and 
responsible  offices  in  the  country  are  monopolised  by 
Europeans,  on  salaries  fully  double  of  those  that  would 
secure  quite  as,  in  many  cases  far  more,  competent  Indians 
for  the  majority  of  these  posts. 

One-fifth  of  the  entire  population  tremble  on  the 
verge  of  starvation,  to  perish  by  millions  whenever  the 
smallest  natural  calamity  of  drought  or  flood  increases  by 
one  iota  the  insecurity  of  their  position,  and  the  money 
Avrung  from  our  pauper  population,  by  the  cruel  taxation 
of  the  first  necessaries  of  life — the  money  which  is  all  our 
Government  has  had  to  show  for  the  20  odd  millions  who 
in  recent  years  have  succumbed  to  famine  and  its  conse- 
quences— is  ruthlessly  squandered  in  bloodshed,  and  in 
wicked,  and  idiotically  mismanaged,  aggressions  on 
feebler  neighboui-s,  to  gratify  the  ignoble  cravings  for 
personal  distinctions  and  titles  of  individual  members  of 
a  Simla  cabal. 

Almost  every  indigenous  art  and  industry'  has  been 
crushed,  and  agriculture,  the  one  art  on  which  now  depend 


THE    SIXTH    CONGRESS  107 

nearly  90  per  cent  of  the  population,  is  slowly  deteriorat- 
ing under  a  grasping  rack-renting  system  of  temporary 
settlements  and,  with  it,  our  crops  and  our  cattle. 

The  masses  are  being  persistently  demoralised  ; 
despite  the  distinct  orders  of  the  House  of  Commons,  an 
iniquitous  system  of  excise,  calculated  to  stimulate 
drunkenness  and  all  its  attendant  crimes  and  vices,  is 
still  retained,  only  slightly  and  superficially  reformed  in 
some  Provinces,  in  all  its  original  iniquity  in  others. 

Under  a  barl^arous  and  obsolete  system,  miscalled 
Justice,  Executive  and  Judicial,  Fiscal  and  Police  powers 
are  so  combined  in  one  functionary,  that  jjowers  professedly 
granted  for  one  purpose  are  practically  utilised  in  further- 
ance of  others,  for  which  no  civilised  Government  in  the 
woidd  would,  nowadays,  dare  to  confer  them. 

There  is  practically  no  justice  in  India  for  the  poor 
against  the  rich,  or  the  non-official  against  the  official,  and 
the  police,  who  should  be  the  protectors  of  the  poor  and 
the  honest,  are  their  terror  and  their  worst  oppressors. 

What  wonder,  if  some  of  us,  who  come  of  sterner 
sires,  at  times,  despairing  of  justice  at  the  hands 
of  man,  cry  out  in  bitterness  of  heart :  "  How  long, 
O  Lord,  how  long?  "  But  the  patient  East,  sublime  in 
its  resignation  and  charity,  longs  only  to  forgive  and  to 
forget  the  past,  and  prays  only  for  justice,  however  tardy, 
in  the  present  ;  and  wrongs  that  long  since  would  have 
roused  Teutonic  or  Gallic  nations  to  frenzy,  tolerated  in 
remembrance  of  the  civic  peace  and  order,  education  and 
other  benefits,  unquestionably  conferred  by  England, 
awaken  in  the  mind  of  India's  people  (far  truer  Christ- 
ians, though  they  know  it  not,  than  that  proud  Nation 
which  permits  all  this  evil,  and  is  answerable  for  it, 
before  God  and  man)  only  the  mild  reproaches  embodied 
in  the  words  with  which  we  headed  this  article  : 

Of  course  we  have  to  submit  resignedly  to  this  ruinous,  this 
unprincipled  trans-frontier  policy  of  the  Government  imtil  we 
succeed  in  awakening  the  conscience  of  our  British  fellow-subjects. 
We  are  British  subjects,  now,  of  our  own  free  choice ;  we  have 
thrown  in  our  lot  with    England  for   better  and  for  worse,  and  it  is 


108  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

this  which  enhances  England's   sin  in  permitting  the  continuance  of 
this  hateful  policy.     Will  our  British  brethren  never  awake  ? 

Alas  !     No  mortal  can   reply — tlieir  slumber  has  been 
long — but  they  may  yet  awake. 

At  2  p.m.  the  Chair  was  taken  by  Mr.  Mano  Mohan 
Ghose,  the  Chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee, 
who,  after  defending  the  Congress  from  the  various 
attacks  made  on  it,  and  defining  its  position,  called  on 
Sir  Romesh  Chandra  Mittra  to  propose  the  President, 
and  he  moved  the  election  of  Mr.  Pherozeshah 
M.  Mehta;  it  was  seconded  by  Nawab  Shamshoodowla, 
supported  by  Mr,  Ananda  Charlu  and  Nawab  Ghulam 
Rubbani,  and  carried  by  acclamation. 

Mr.  Pherozeshah  M.  Mehta,  taking  the  presidential 
chair  and  saying,  truly,  that  it  was  the  highest  honour 
that  India  had  to  give,  began  by  vindicating  the  right 
of  the  Parsi  as  a  true  son  of  India,  after  thirteen 
centuries  of  home  in  the  Motherland.  He  welcomed 
Mr.  Caine  as  one  of  the  elected  delegates  and  thanked 
him  for  his  work,  and  then,  after  warm  words  of 
gratitude  to  Mr.  Bradlangh  for  the  untiring  energy, 
the  indefatigable  care,  the  remarkable  ability,  with 
which  he  had  worked  for  India  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  he  turned  to  the  consideration  of  his  Bill, 
and  of  its  result.  Lord  Cross'  India  Councils 
Bill.  In  a  few  scathing  words  he  disposed  of 
Lord  Salisbury's  absurd  view  that  "  Government  by 
representation  ....  did  not  fit  eastern  traditions  or 
eastern  minds,"  and  quoted  Mr.  Chisholm  Anstey, 
"  that  the  East  is  the  parent  of  Municipalities. 
Local  Self-Government,  in  the  widest  acceptation  of 
the  term,  is  as  old  as  the  East  itself."  Mr.  Bradlaugh 


THE    SIXTH    CONGRESS  109 

had  fought  to  substitute  election  for  nomination  in 
Lord  Cross'  Bill  ;  when  that  Bill  was  thrown  out,  he 
had  introduced  another,  on  similar  lines,  and  this  Avas 
to  be  laid  before  Congress,  and  should  have  its  unani- 
mous support.  He  referred  to  the  service  rendered  b}' 
the  Congress  Deputation  to  England,  and  concluded 
with  a  singularly  fine  and  poignant  appeal  to  Eng- 
land's love  of  liberty  ;  the  Congress  was,  indeed,  not 
the  voice  of  the  masses,  but  it  was  the  duty  of  their 
educated  compatriots  to  interpret  their  grievances  and 
oifer  suggestions  for  their  redress. 

History  teaches  us  that  such  has  been  the  law  of 
widening'  progress  in  all  ages  and  all  countries,  notably  in 
England  itself.  That  function  and  that  duty,  which  thus 
devolve  upon  us,  is  best  discharged,  not  in  times  of  alarna 
and  uneasiness,  of  anger  and  excitement,  but  when  the 
heart  is  loyal  and  clear  and  reason  unclouded.  It  is,  I 
repeat,  the  glory  of  the  Congress  that  the  educated  and  en- 
lightened people  of  tlie  country  seek  to  repa}'  the  debt  of 
gratitude  which  they  owe  for  the  priceless  boon  of  edu- 
cation by  pleading,  and  pleading  temperately,  for  timely 
and  provident  statesmanship.  I  have  no  fears  but  that 
English  statesmanship  will  ultimately  respond  to  the  call. 
I  have  unbounded  faith  in  the  living  and  fertilising  princi- 
ples of  English  culture  and  Englisli  education. 

True,     the     Anglo-Indian     officials     were     against 

them.     But  they,    after    all,    were    Englishmen,    and 

must  at  last  feel  that  they  must  work  with  England^s 

policy,     A    choice    had    been   offered    to    England,  a 

blessing  and  a  curse. 

All  the  great  forces  of  English  life  and  society, 
moral,  social,  intellectual,  political,  are,  if  slowly, .  yet 
steadily  and  irresistibly,  declaring  themselves  for  the 
choice  which  will  make  the  connexion  of  England  and 
India  a  blessing  to  themselves  and  to  the  whole  world 
10 


110  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

for  countless  g-enerations.  ...  I  appeal  to  all  true  Eng- 
lishmen— to  candid  friends  as  to  generous  foes — not  to 
let  this  prayer  go  in  vain. 

The  Subjects'  Committee  was  then  elected  and 
ratified  by  the  Congress,  and  the   meeting  adjourned. 

On  the  27th  December,  Resolution  I  was  pro- 
posed by  Mr.  Lai  Mohan  Chose,  who  defended  its 
moderation,  and  the  proposal  was  seconded  by 
Mr,  Ananda  Charlu.  Mr.  C.  V.  Nayadu  supported, 
and  told  of  his  experiences  in  England,  where,  as  a 
member  of  the  "  Paddington  Parliament,"  he  had 
carried  the  Bill.  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malavij^a 
quoted  Mr.  Gladstone  to  the  effect  that  it  often 
happens  that  a  Nation  was  given  the  duty  of  working 
out  some  great  principle  ;  to  England  was  given  the 
spreading  of  the  principle  of  representation,  and  she 
had  worked  so  successfully  that  "  now  the  man  would 
be  deemed  mad,"  said  Mr.  Gladstone,  "  who  should 
denounce  the  system  of  popular  representation  ". 
Yet  in  India  such  men  were  found,  and  to  India  the 
system  was  denied. 

Many  others  spoke  in  support.  Pandit  Bishan 
Narayan  Dhar,  speaking  against  separate  electorates, 
asked  the  Government  if  they  would  follow  the  noble 
policy  of  Akbar,  a  policy  of  ignoring  religious  differ- 
ences, or  were  they  going  to  lay  stress  on  them,  as 
did  Sir  John  Strachey  who  said  :  "  The  truth  plainly 
is  that  the  existence  side  by  side  of  these  hostile 
creeds  is  one  of  the  strong  points  in  our  political 
position    in    India." 

The  Hesolntion  was  carried  unanimouslv. 


THE    SIXTH    CONGRESS  111 

The  "  Omnibus  Resolution  "  was  proposed  by 
Mr.  Kali  Charan  Bannerji,  who  described  himself  as 
"  an  old  driver  of  your  omnibus  "  ;  it  was  the  same 
from  (a)  to  (/i)  as  that  of  the  previous  year,  (?'),  on 
the  Salt  Tax,  was  transferred  to  a  separate  Resolution 
(V),  and  (j)  took  its  place;  then  (/)  on  simultaneous 
examinations,  was  put  in  from  the  end  of  Resolution 
V  of  1889,  and  Resolution  VI,  on  the  Arms  Act,  was 
also  transferred  to  the  omnibus  as  (k).  On  the  Army 
and  the  Arms  Act  the  official  Report  remarks  that 
"  even  the  Russian  Government  with  all  its  despotic 
traditions  is  not  so  exclusive  "  as  the  British,  and 
that  "  had  this  same  idiotic  policy  [the  Arms  Act] 
been  pursued  for  the  25  years  prior  to  the  Mutiny, 
1857  would  have  seen  the  end  of  British  rule  here. 
It  was  the  people — the  armed  people  accustomed  to 
handle  weapons — who  rallied  to  the  British  Standards 
in  those  dark  days  of  danger  and  distress,  and  saved 
the  British  Empire  in  the  East."  Munshi  Sadar-ud-din 
Ahmed  said  : 

The  Emperors  of  old  had  confidence  in  the  bravery 
and  faithfulness  of  the  people,  and  never  deprived  them 
of  arms,  and  derived  considerable  assistance  from  the 
people  in  return.  The  martial  spirit  of  the  people  of  the 
country  raised  the  descendants  of  Taimur,  Akbar  in 
particular,  to  the  highest  pitch  of  supremacy  and  power. 
If  the  people  of  India  witli  arms  in  their  hands  and  bullets 
in  their  pockets  could  remain  subject  to  the  Muhammadan's 
Empire  and  accepted  its  supremacy,  does  it  stand  to  reason 
that  they  would  rebel  against  so  just  and  civilised  a 
Government  as  that  of  the  British  people  ?  The  peace 
and  prosperity  of  a  people  are  among  the  first  requisites 
of  sovereignty,  and  these  cannot  be  secured  unless  the 
rulers  and  the  i^uled  repose   mutual   confidence  in  each 


112  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

other.  The  confidence  of  the  people  is  dependent  on  the 
non-interference  of  the  sovereign  with  the  privileges  of  the 
people  and  their  right  to  do  such  lawful  acts  as  they 
please.  At  any  rate  arms  are  the  sole  protectors  of  life 
and  property  ;  and  their  deprivation  causes  disappoint- 
ment and  dejection  which  knows  no  bounds.   .   .  . 

No  Emperor  ever  feared  the  sword  of  his  subject,  nor 
ever  emasculated  a  brave  nation  by  force.  The  natives  of 
India  belong  to  a  race  which  opposed  Alexander  and 
turned  him  back  beyond  the  Indus.  They  are  descendants 
of  those  brave  people  who,  in  the  battle  of  Telaveri,  made 
Shahab-ud-din  Ghori  taste  the  efficacy  of  a  sword,  and 
made  him  retreat  headlong  with  his  ai'my  for  upwards  of 
forty  miles.  To  convert  such  brave  and  faithful  people 
into  protectors  of  the  Throne  and  guards  of  the  State  is  to 
invio'orate  and  strengthen  the  foundations  of  the  Govern- 
ment.  You  must  have  read  in  history  that  when  Nadir 
Shah  once  summoned  the  Nawab  of  Furrukabad  to  Delhi 
for  an  interview,  and  the  Nawab  replied  that  he  could  not 
come  without  his  armour  and  weapons,  Nadir  said  :  "  Go 
and  tell  him  he  may  come  with  his  artillery."  What  a 
revolution  !  There  was  a  time  when  the  Emperors  of  old 
were  not  afraid  of  the  arms  of  their  enemies ;  a  time 
has  now  come  when  we,  unfortunate  though  loyal  and 
faithful,  subjects  are  distrusted  even  by  our  own 
Government. 


Resolution  III  drew  attention  to  the  annual  scandal 
of  the  discussion  of  Indian  questions  before  empty 
benches  in  the  House  of  Commons^  and  was  moved 
by  Mr.  Caine,  seconded  by  Mr.  R.  D.  Mehta, 
supported  by  Mr.  Yule  and  carried.  I'hen  Resolution 
IV,  another  effort  to  reform  the  Excise  Administra- 
tion, was  ably  proposed  by  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha,  in  an 
argumentative  speech,  and  vehemently  seconded  by 
Lala  Murlidhar,   who  said   the   East   had  given  the 


THE    SIXTH    CONGRESS  113 

West  mathematics,  astronomy  and  other  sciences, 
and  the  West  had  given  the  East  in  exchange — 
liquor.  "  Even  our  Muhammadan  rulers  hated  and 
held  the  liquor  traffic  accursed.  It  has  been  left  to 
our  Christian  rulers  to  love  it,  pet  it,  stimulate  it, 
and  make  money  by  crores  out  of  it."  N^eedless  to 
say  the  Resolution  was  carried  unanimously,  and  the 
Congress  adjourned  to  Monday,  December  29tli. 

On  the  third  day,  Mr.  Pringle  Kennedy  opened 
the  proceedings  by  moving  Resolution  V,  for  the 
reduction  of  the  salt-tax  ;  in  seconding  the  resolution, 
Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  sharply  criticised  the  wasteful 
military  expenditure  which  depleted  the  resources  of 
Government,  and  showed  that  the  annual  consump- 
tion of  salt  per  head  in  India  was  about  10  lb. 
per  annum,  whereas  the  average  for  Europe  was 
26  lb.  varying  from  80  lb.  in  England  (includ- 
ing much  salt  used  in  manufacture),  and  50  lb. 
in  France  to  14  lb.  in  Austria.  Mr.  G.  K. 
Gokhale  supported  the  resolution,  saying  that  the 
enhancement  of  the  tax  by  an  executive  order  in  1888 
was  unjust  and  impolitic,  and  the  consequences  had 
been  disastrovis.  Unjust,  because  in  1886  the  Income 
Tax  Act  had  been  brought  forward  on  the  ground 
that  the  masses  were  paying  more  than  their  due 
share  of  taxation,  and  yet  it  was  on  them  that  a  new 
burden  was  laid.  It  was  impolitic,  because  the  raising 
deprived  the  Government  of  any  financial  reserve. 
The  consequence  was  that  the  people  had  used  in  3 
years  26  lakhs  of  maunds  less  than  they  would  have 
used   at  the   previous   price,  and  this  was" taken  from 


114  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

the   very    poorest,    those    who    lived    always    on    the 
borderland  of  famine  : 

When  you  call  to  mind  tlie  thin  emaciated  figures 
of  these  unhappy,  miserable,  brethren,  who  have  as  much 
right  to  the  comforts  of  this,  God's,  earth  as  you  or  I  or 
any  one  else  ;  wlien  you  remember  that  the  lives  of 
these  brethren  are  so  uniformly  dark  and  miserable, 
that  they  are  hardly  cheered  by  a  single  ray  of  hope, 
or  relieved  by  a  single  day  of  rest ;  when,  further,  you 
remember  that  a  person  does  not  generally  trench  upon 
his  stock  of  necessaries  before  he  has  parted  with  every 
luxury,  every  single  comfort  tl\at  he  may  allow  himself  ; 
when  you  recall  all  these  things,  you  will  clearly  under- 
stand what  grievous  and  terrible  hardship  and  suffering 
and  privation  this  measure  of  enhancement,  which  has 
curtailed  the  poor  man's  consumption  of  salt  by  thirty-six 
lakhs  of  maunds,  has  really  entailed.  We  are  appealing 
in  the  present  instance  to  the  Government  of  India  to 
reduce  the  duty  on  salt  from  two  rupees  eight  annas  to 
two  rupees  per  maund.  My  friend  Mr.  Wacha  has 
shown  that  the  state  of  the  finances  permits  of  such  re- 
duction. We  are  appealing  to  the  sense  of  justice  of  the 
Government  of  India.  We  are  appealing  to  their  states- 
manship, to  their  righteousness,  and  I  will  even  go  further 
and  say,  to  their  mercy.  The  past  is  in  the  past  and  no 
one  can  recall  it ;  but  this  much  can  surely  be  done — fur- 
ther evil  and  misery  from  this  source  can  be  averted. 

An  amendment  was  proposed,  but  only  two  hands, 
those  of  the  proposer  and  seconder,  were  held  up  for 
it,  and,  after  several  other  speeclies,  the  Resolution 
was  carried  nem.  con. 

The  Permanent  Settlement  of  Land  came  up  again, 
moved  by  Mr.  E.  N.  Mndholkar  and  seconded  by  Mr. 
R.  Sabapati  IMllai  ;  supported  by  many  speakers,  it 
was  unanimously  carried. 


THE    SIXTH    CONGEESS  115 

The  day  concluded  by  passing  a  Resolution  of  pro- 
test against  an  Order  issued  by  the  Bengal  Govern- 
ment, forbidding  any  official  to  attend  the  Congress 
even  as  a  spectator.  Mr.  Mano  Mohan  Ghose  proposed 
and  Mr.  Yule  seconded  it,  and  the  President  put  it, 
remarking  scornfully  that  the  matter  was  of  very 
little  importance  to  the  Congress,  but  as^  if  the  order 
was  not  issued  by  some  subordinate  official,  it  would 
involve  grave  discredit  to  the  Government,  they 
might  give  the  Government  the  "  opportunity  of 
extricating  themselves  from  the  undignified  and 
ludicrous  position,  if  not  worse,  in  which  these  pre- 
cious orders  apparently  place  them ".  Which  was 
done,  and  the  Congress  adjourned.  (The  Resolution 
effected  its  object,  for  the  Viceroy,  Lord  Lansdowne, 
answered  that  the  Government  order,  which  had  been 
misunderstood,  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  Congress, 
that  the  Congress  was  a  perfectly  legitimate  movement, 
and  that  while  officials  could  not  take  active  part  in 
political  movements,  they  should  not  impede  them, 
nor  put  pressure  on  others  either  to  help  or  hinder 
them.) 

On  the  re-assembly  of  the  Congress  for  its  fourth 
day's  work,  the  Hon.  Pandit  Ayodhyanath  in  moving 
Resolution  VIII,  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Charles 
Bradlaugh  and  others,  referred  to  Mr.  Gladstone's 
promise  to  support  Mr.  Bradlaugh's  motion  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  to  Lord  Salisbury's  rude 
reference  to  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji  as  a  "  black 
man  ".  After  many  had  spoken,  the  Resolution  was 
-unanimously    carried.     The    ninth  Resolution,  also  of 


116  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

thanks,  was  carried,  and  then  it  was  resolved  that 
the  Congress  should  meet  either  in  Madras  or 
Nagpur. 

Mr:  Noi-endranath  Sen  then  proposed  a  Resolution 
Avhich  is  not  yet  carried  ou^t,  that  if  it  were  "possible 
a  meeting  of  the  Congress  should  be  held  in  London 
in  1892,  so  as  to  bring  the  Indian  question  before 
the  British  Democracy  as  no  small  deputation  could 
do.  Mr.  Saligram  Singh,  in  seconding,  thought 
that  if  suitable  arrangements  could  be  made  for  the 
voyage,  no  serious  objection  would  be  made  by  the 
orthodox,  and  Mr.  Viraraghavachari  said  that  as  far 
as  Madras  was  concerned,  no  orthodoxy  would  be 
allowed  to  stand  in  the  way  of  their  political  advance- 
ment. A  very  long  discussion  arose,  and  even  very 
orthodox  delegates  declared  that  they  would  go  for 
the  sake  of  the  country,  although  it  might  give  great 
pain  to  those  they  loved  and  revered. 

A  Resolution  on  finance  was  then  passed  ;  Mr. 
Hume  was  re-elected  Secretary,  and  Pandit  Ayodhya- 
nath.  Joint  General  Secretary  for  the  ensuing  year  ; 
and  a  deputation  to  England  was  appointed.  One  of 
the  lady  delegates,  Mrs.  Kadumbini  Clanguli,  was 
called  on  to  move  the  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Chairman, 
the  first  woman  who  spoke  from  the  Congress  plat- 
form, a  symbol  that  India's  freedom  would  uplift 
India's  Womanhood.  The  President  spoke  a  few 
words  of  thanks  to  the  Rece]ition  Committee  and 
others  who  had  lielped,  and  the  Sixth  Congress 
dissolved. 


THE    SIXTH    CONGRESS  117 

RESOLUTIONS 
Representation 

I.  Resolved— That  this  Congress,  having  considered  the  draft 
Bill  recently  introduced  into  Parliament  by  Mr.  Charles  Bi-adlaugh, 
entitled  "An  Act  to  amend  the  Indian  Councils  Act  of  1861," 
approves  the  same  as  calculated  to  secure  a  substantial  instalment 
of  that  reform,  in  the  Administration  of  India,  for  which  it  has  been 
agitating,  and  humbly  prays  the  Houses  of  Parliament  of  the  United 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  to  pass  the  same  into  law ; 
and  further  that  its  President,  Mr.  Pherozeshah  Melita,  is  hereby 
empowered  to  draw  up  and  sign,  on  behalf  of  this  assembly,  a  peti- 
tion to  the  House  of  Commons  to  the  foregoing  effect,  and  to  transmit 
the  same  to  Mr.  Charles  Bradlaugh  for  presentation,  thereto,  in  due 
course. 

Confirmation  of  Previous  Resolutions 

II.  Resolved — That  this  present  Congress  does  hereby  ratify 
and  confirm  the  resolutions  passed  by  previous  Congresses  as  to — 

(a)  to  (/()  the  same  as  in  Resolution  III  of  the  Congress  of 
1889. 

(/)  was  nuide  Resolution  V  of  18<»0,  and  ( j)  of  1889  took  its 
place. 

(J)   is  from  Resolution  V  of  1889. 

(k)  was  Resolution  VI  of  1889,  very  slightly  modified  in  the 
preliminary  words  which  ran :  The  ex})ediency  of  so  modifying 
the  rules  made  under  Act  XI  of  1878  (the  Arms  Act)  that  all 
restrictions,  etc. 

Grievances   before  Supply 

III.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  respectfully  expresses 
the  earnest  hope  that  in  the  interest  of  the  people  of  India,  the 
House  of  Commons  will  forthwith  restore  the  right,  formerly  jiossess- 
ed  by  members  of  that  Honourable  House,  of  stating  to  Parliament 
any  matter  of  grievance  of  the  natives  of  India  before  Mr.  Speaker 
leaves  the  Chair  for  the  presentation  in  Committee  of  the  Indian 
Budget  statement,  and  earnestly  trusts  that  the  House  of  Commons 
will,  in  future,  take  into  consideration  the  Annual  Indian  Budget 
statement  at  such  a  date  as  will  ensure  its  full  and  adequate  discuss- 
ion, and  further  authox-ises  its  President  to  sign  a  Petition,  in  the 
name  and  on  behalf  of  this  Congress,  for  presentation  to  the  House 
of  Commons,  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  this  Resolution. 


118  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Temperance 

IV.  Resolved — That,  while  recognising  the  action  taken,  in 
response  to  its  previous  prayers,  in  the  matter  of  Excise  Reform  by 
H.  M.'s  Secretary  of  State  for  India  and  the  Supreme  Government 
here,  and  noting  with  pleasure  the  increase  to  the  import  duty  on 
spirits,  the  taxation  imposed  on  Indian-brewed  malt  liquors,  the 
decision  of  the  Bengal  Government  to  abolish  the  outstill  system,  and 
the  closing  of  over  7,000  liquor  shops  by  the  Madras  Government  in 
1889-90,  this  Congress  regrets  that  it  is  still  necessary  to  urge  the 
Government  of  India  to  insist  on  all  Provincial  administrations 
carrying  out  in  their  integrity  the  policy  in  matters  of  Excise 
enunciated  in  paras  103,  104  and  105  of  the  Despatch  published  in 
Ihe  Gazette  of  India  of  March  1st,  1890,  especially  as  to  subsection  4 
of  para  103,  inz. — 

"  That  efforts  should  be  made  to  ascertain  the  existence  of  local 
public  sentiment,  and  that  a  reasonable  amount  of  deference  should 
be  paid  to  such  opinion  when  ascertained." 

Salt  Tax 

V.  Resolved — That  the  condition  of  the  Finances  of  India 
having  materially  improved,  and  those  special  circumstances  on 
which  the  Government  relied  to  justify  the  recent  enhancement  of 
the  Salt  Tax  having  practically  ceased  to  exi.st,  this  Congress 
considers  it  essential  that  the  enhancement  referred  to  should  be 
remitted  at  an  early  date,  and  empowers  its  President  to  submit  a 
special  memorial  on  the  subject  in  its  name  and  on  its  behalf  to 
H.  E.  the  Viceroy  in  Council. 

Permanent  Settlement 

VI.  Resolved — That  having  reference  to  the  expectations 
created  throughout  the  country  by  the  Despatch  of  Her  Majesty's 
Secretary  of  State  in  1862,  the  principles  of  which  weve  re-affirmed 
in  a  subsequent  Despatch  of  1S65,  promising  the  extension  of  a 
Permanent  Settlement  to  all  temporarily  settled  tracts  in  which 
certain  conditions  have  long  since  been  fulfilled,  this  Congress  i-e- 
spectfully  submits  that  the  Government  of  India  is  now  in  honour 
bound  to  take  up  this  question  of  Permanent  Settlement,  without 
further  delay,  in  view  to  practical  action  thereon  such  that  fixity  and 
permanency  may  be  given  to  the  Government  Land  Revenue 
demand,  as  explicitly  promised  by  Her  Majesty's  Secretary  of  State 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago. 

An  Enquiry 

VII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  having  observed  with  sur- 
pi'ise  a  notice,  apparently  official,  in  various  Calcutta  newspapers 
which  runs  as  follows  ; 


THE    SIXTH    CONGRESS  119 

The  Congress 

The  Bengal  Government  having  learnt  that  tickets  of  admission 
to  the  visitors'  enclosure  in  the  Congress  pavilion  have  been 
sent  to  various  Government  officei'S  residing  in  Calciitta,  has  issued 
a  circular  to  all  Secretaries,  and  heads  of  departments  subordinate 
to  it,  pointing  out  that  under  the  orders  of  the  Government  of 
India  the  presence  of  Government  officials,  even  as  visitors  at  such 
meetings  is  not  advisable,  and  that  their  taking  part  in  the  pro- 
ceedings of  any  such  meetings  is  absolutely  pi'ohibited  : 

And  having  also  considered  a  letter  addressed  by  the  Private 
Secretary  of  His  Honour  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Bengal  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Reception  Committee,  of  which  the  following  is 
an  exact  copy  : 

Belvedere, 
26th  December,  1890 

Dear  Sir, — In  returning  herewith  the  seven  cards  of  admission 
to  the  visitors'  enclosure  of  the  Congress  pavilion,  which  were 
kindly  sent  by  you  to  my  address  yesterday  afternoon,  I  am  desired 
to  say  that  the  Lieutenant-Governor  and  the  membei-s  of  his 
household  could  not  possibly  avail  themselves  of  these  tickets, 
since  the  orders  of  the  Government  of  India  definitely  prohibit 
the  presence  of  Government  Officials  at  such  meetings. 

Yours  faithfully, 

P.  C.  Lyon, 
Private  Secretary 

J.  Ghosal,  Esq.,  Secretary, 

Congress  Reception  Committee 

authorises  and  instructs  its  President  to  draw  the  attention  of 
His  Excellency  the  Viceroy  to  the  declaration  embodied  in  these 
papers  that  Government  servants  are  prohibited  from  attending  any 
meetings  of  this  Congress  even  as  spectators,  and  to  enquire, 
most  respectfully,  whether  His  Honour  the  LieutenaTit-Governor 
of  Bengal  has,  or  has  not,  correctly  interpreted  the  orders  of  the 
Government  of  India. 

Thanks  of  Congress 

VIII.  Resolved — That  the  best  thanks  of  this  Congress  be 
tendered  to  Mr.  Charles  Bradlaugh,  M.P.,  for  the  invaluable  services 
rendei'cd  by  him  during  the  past  year,  as  also  to  Sir  W.  Wedderburn, 
Mr.  W.  S.  Caine,  Mr.  J.  Bright  Maclaren,  M.P.,  Mr.  J.  Ellis,  M.P., 
Mr.  George  Yule,  and  Mr.  D"adabhai  Naoroji  for  the  unselfish  zeal 
^nd  ability  with  which   they  have  presided  over  the  British  Agency 


120  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

of  the  Congress ;  further  that  they  put  ou  record  an  expression  of 
their  high  appreciation  of  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Digby,  C.  I.  E., 
Secretary  of  the  Agency,  and  Messrs.  Surendranath  Bannerji, 
11.  N.  Mudholkar,  W.  R.  Bannerji,  Eardley  Norton,  and  A.  O.  Hume, 
delegates  to  England,  respectively,  discharged  the  onerous  duties 
imposed  upon  them,  and  of  their  gratitude  to  all  those  mem- 
bers of  the  British  public  who  so  kindly  welcomed  and  so 
sympathetically  gave  audience,  in  over  fifty  public  and  a  far  larger 
number  of  private  meetings,  to  one  or  more  of  these  delegates. 

IX.  Resolved — 'I'hat  a  vote  of  thanks  be  recorded  to 
Kumar  Debendra  Mullick  and  Brothers,  Proprietors  of  the 
Tivoli  Gardens,  Mr.  N.  0.  Bose  and  Babu  Bhupendranath  Bose, 
Proprietors  of  Mohan  Bagan  Villa,  and  to  the  Hon.  Sir  Romesh 
Chandra  Mitra,  Mr.  T.  N.  Palit,  Babus  Jauaki  Nath  Roy,  Gopi 
Mohan  Roy,  Harendra  Nath  Roy,  Kissori  Mohan  Roy,  Ramanath 
Ghose,and  Jamadai-  CliMsiram,  (i\viiers  of  houses  kindly  lent  for  the 
use  of  delegates. 

Congress  Work 

XI.  Resolved — That  provisional  arrangements  be  made  to 
hold  a  Congress,  of  not  less  than  100  delegates,  in  England,  all  things 
being  convenient,  in  1892,  and  that  the  several  standing  Congress 
Committees  be  directed  to  report,  at  the  coming  Congress,  the 
names  of  the  delegates  that  it  is  proposed  to  depute  from  their 
respective  circles. 

XII.  Resolved — That  of  the  Funds  now  in  the  Joint  General 
Secretary's  hands  and  about  to  be  received,  a  further  sum  of 
twentj'  thousand  rupees  be  added  to  the  Permanent  Fund  and 
placed  in  fixed  dejDosits,  and  that  the  rest  of  the  funds  accruing  on 
account  of  this  current  year,  1890,  be  held  b^'  him  available  for  the 
immediate  purposes  of  the  British  Committee  of  the  Indian  Nation- 
al Congress,  but  to  be  replaced  as  the  subscriptions  for  1891  are 
received,  and,  ultimately,  also  added  to  the  Permanent  Fund. 

XIII.  Resolved—That  a  sum  of  Rs.  40,000,  exclusive  of 
indixidual  donatioiis,  is  assigned  for  the  expenses  of  the  Britisli 
Committee  of  the  Congress  and  Rs.  G,000  for  the  General  Secretary's 
Office  and  Establishment,  and  that  the  several  circles  and  districts 
do  contribute  as  arranged  in  Committee. 

XV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  does  formally  appoint 
Messrs.  G.  Yule,  Pherozeshah  Mchta,  W.  C.  Bannerji,  J.  Adam, 
Mano  Mohan  Ghose,  A.  O.  Hume,  Kali  Charan  Bannerji,  Dadabhai 
Naoroji,  D.  A.  Khare,  and  such  other  gentlemen  as  may  volunteer 
for  the  duty  with  the  sancticm  and  approval  of  the  Standing  Con- 
gress Committees  of  their  respective  circles,  to  represent  its  views 
in  England,  and  press  upon  the  consideration  of  the  British  Public 
the  political  reforms  which  the  Congress  has  advocated. 


THE    SIXTH    CONGRESS  121 

Formal 

X.  Resolved — That  the  Seventh  Indian  National  Congress 
do  assemble  on  the  26th  December,  1891,  at  either  Madras  or 
Nagpore,  as  may  be  hereafter  settled,  in  consultation  between  the 
Madras,  Central  Provinces  and  Berar  Committees,  and  the  Joint 
General  Secretary. 

XIV.  Resolved — That  Mr.  A.  O.  Hume  and  Pandit  Ayodliya- 
nath  are  re-elected  General  and  Joint-General  Secretaries  for  the 
ensuine:  A'ear. 


11 


CHAPTER  VII 


Nagpfr  had  the  honour  of  -welcoming  the  Seventh 
National  Congress  on  the  28th,  29th  and  30th  of 
December,  1891,  and  812  delegates  met  in  a  very 
beautiful  Pavilion,  in  the  Lall  Bagh.  It  held  just 
4,000  chairs  and  was  packed  in  every  part,  'i'he 
delegates  were  distributed  as  follows  : 


Bengal  ... 

N.  W.  P.  and  Oudh 

Panjab 

Bonibay  (135)  and  Sindh  (2) 

Berar,  C.   P.  and   Secunderabad 

Madras... 


73 

56 

5 

137 

480 

61 

812 


At  2  p.  m.,  the  Chaimiian  of  the  Reception  Com- 
mittee— Chairman  also,  as  it  happened,  of  the  Nagpur 
Municipality — Mr.  C.  Narayanaswami  Nayadu,  wel- 
comed the  deleg;ates ;  he  spoke  warmly  of  India's 
"  love  of  the  British  people  to  whose  advent  here 
India  owes  her  rebirth,"  and  he  bore  testimony  to 
the  cordial  way  in  which  the  Chief  Commissioner  of 
the  Central  Provinces,  Mr.  A.  P.  Macdonnell,  had  signi- 
fied that,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  any  official 
who  wished  to  do  so  could  attend  tlie  Congress. 


THE    SEVENTH    CONGEESS  123 

Pandit  Ayodliyanath  proposed  and  Mr.  Phero- 
zeshah  Mehta  seconded,  the  election  of  Rao  Sahab 
P.  Ananda  Charlu  as  President,  who,  on  taking  the 
Chair,  alluded  to  two  others  who  had  also  been 
suggested  as  President,  one  of  whom,  Pandit 
Ayodhyanath,  had  preferred  that  the  Presidency 
should  go  to  Madras,  and  the  other,  Dewan  Bahadur 
S.  Subramania  Iyer,  had  been  raised  to  the  Bench 
of  the  High  Court,  Madras,  and  was  thus  precluded 
from  taking  part  in  the  Congress.  His  next 
reference  Avas  to  the  irreparable  loss  sustained  by 
India  in  the  death  of  Mr.  Charles  Bradlaugh,  M.P., 
"an  embodiment  of  universal  benevolence  ";  what  it 
meant  to  India  was  shown  by  Lord  Cross  immediately 
dropping  even  his  feeble  measure  of  reform,  and  the 
renewed  indifference  of  the  British  Government,  which 
had  already  lasted  for  nearly  twenty  years,  until  India 
was  almost  on  the  verge  of  revolt.  The  deaths  of 
Sir  T.  Madhava  Rao  and  Dr.  Rajendralal  Mitra  were 
also  movirnfull}^  recorded.  The  President,  after 
alluding  to  the  approaching  departure  of  Mr.  A.  0. 
Hume,  urged  on  the  attention  of  the  Congress  the 
meeting  in  London,  as  proposed  the  previous  year, 
and  their  duty  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the  work 
of  the  Congress  among  the  masses. 

The  Subjects  Committee  already  elected  by  the 
delegates  was  then  ratified  by  the  Congress,  and 
Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  brought  up  Resolution  I, 
appointing  a  Committee  to  consider  and  report  on  a 
momentous  question,  whether  the  Annual  Sessions 
.of  the  Congress   should   be   discontinued   until  after 


124  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    TOR   FREEDOM 

the  propoeed  Session  had  been  held  in  England.  He 
spoke  passionately  in  favour  of  maintaining  the  re- 
gular Sessions  while  also  holding  one  in  England,  and 
the  resolution  was  seconded  and  carried.  The 
Congress  then  adjourned. 

On  meeting  on  December  29th,  Air.  Gladstone's 
82nd  Hrthday,  the  Congress  gave  three  cheers  for  him 
before  settling  down  to  business.  Then  Mr. 
Surendranath  Bannerji,  Avho  moved  Resolution  II, 
insisted  on  the  value  of  the  Congress  in  bringing 
about  reforms,  pointing  to  the  demand  of  the  Con- 
gress for  Legislative  Councils  in  the  N.  W.  P.  and 
the  Panjab,  and  the  establishment  of  the  first,  and  to 
some  other  hoped  for  changes.  He  urged  that  India 
was  not  well  governed,  but  "  it  is  not  the  men 
who  are  to  blame  ;  it  is  the  system  ;  it  is  the 
bureaucracy,  the  autocratic  despotism,  that  has 
been  established,  that  must  be  arraigned  before 
the  bar  of  public  opinion  in  India  and  throughout 
the  civilised  world.  ...  It  is  a  despotism,  tempered 
by  a  free  press  and  the  right  of  public  meeting." 
[Both  of  these  have  since  been  taken  away.] 

What  is  the  financial  position  of  the  Grovernmeiit 
of  India  ?  It  may  be  briefly  summed  up.  It  is  a  position 
of  ever  recurring  deficits  diversified  by  an  ever-increasing 

debt England  has  educated  us,  and  has   awakened 

in  our  minds  ambitions  which  she  is  bound  to  satisfy.  ,  . 
The  policy  of  the  Gorernment  is  not  a  policy  of  concili- 
ation, I  am  sorry  to  say.  At  times  it  is  an  irritating 
policy.  Take  the  case  of  the  volunteers.  We  are  ex- 
cluded from  enrolment  as  volunteers.  Armenians, 
Negroes,  West  African  Mulattoes,  and  nondescripts  of 
humanity  who  infest  tlie  back  slums  of  Calcutta — these 
are    all    eligible    as   volunteers,    these    are  our    martial. 


THE    SEVENTH    CONGRESS  125 

heroes,  these  are  the  defenders  of  our  hearths  and  homes. 
These  are  invidious  distinctions,  and  I  am  sure  that  they 
must  disappear  before  the  irresistible  might  of  constitu- 
tional agitation.  They  are  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  British 
law  ;  thej^  are  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  that  laAV  which  is 
higher  than  all  human  laws,  the  law  of  nature,  which  is 
engraved  on  the  hearts  and  cfaisciences  of  the  people  of 
this  country. 

All  this  is  entirely  true;  the  words  were  spoken  in 
1891  ;  this  is  the  year  of  grace  1915. 

The  Resolution  was  briefly  seconded  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  R.  C.  Rose  and  carried  by  acclamation. 

Mr.  Pringle  Kennedy  then  moved  Resolution  III, 
which  with  Resolutions  IV,  V,  VI,  VII  and  VIII,  really, 
though  they  were  separately  moved  and  canned,  con- 
stituted a  sort  of  "omnibus  Resolution  ".  Mr. Kennedy 
made  a  remarkably  good  speech,  on  "peace,  economy, 
and  reform,"  ui'ging  that  instead  of  a  "scientific 
frontier,^'  they  should  remember  the  words  of  Lord 
Derby  in  1878,  when  an  invasion  of  India  was  feared  : 
"  A  full  treasury,  a  prosperous  and  contented  people — 
these  are  the  real  defences  of  the  country,"  He 
pleaded  for  the  people  in  words  as  pitifully  true  in 
1915  as  in  1891,  saying  that  millions 

have  not,  from  year's  end  to  year's  end,  a  sufificieTicy 
of  food.  Prom  one  day  to  another  they  do  not  know, 
Avhat  every  one  of  us  knows  every  day  of  his  life,  what  it 
is  to  have  their  stomachs  full. 

Mr.  Mudholkar  seconded,  saying  that  there  was 
"  acute,  widespread,  growing  poverty,"  and  quoted 
Sir  William  Hunter,  who  said  that  fully  40  millions  of 
people  in  India  went  through  life  with  insufficient  food, 
and  Sir  Charles  Elliot,  who  declared  :  "I  do  not  hesitate 


126  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

to  say  tliat  half  the  agricultural  population  do  not  know 
fi'om  one  year's  end  to  another  what  it  is  to  have  a 
full  meal."  He  gave  the  records  of  some  famines — 
in  12  years,  12  million  people  had  died.  The  average 
income  of  the  Indian  was  put  down  by  Grovernment  at 
Rs.  27,  while  that  of  the  Englishman  was  Rs.  570.  And 
this  is  an  average ;  some  have  enormous  incomes ; 
to   what  then    do  the  inr^'omes  of  the  peasants  fall  ? 

Lala  Murlidhar,  speaking  in  Urdu,  made  an  im- 
passioned speech ;  the  hag  Poverty,  he  said,  brought 
forth  a  brood,  wretchedness,  misery,  degradation, 
famine,  pestilence,  crime  ;  all  were  to  blame  for  this, 
people  and  Government  : 

You,  you,  it  seems,  are  content  to  join  with  these 
accursed  monsters  in  battening  on  the  heart's  blood  of 
your  brethren  {cries  of  No,  No).  I  say  Yes  ;  look  round  : 
What  are  all  these  chandeliers  and  lamps,  and 
European-made  chairs  and  tables,  and  smart  clothes  and 
hats,  and  English  coats  and  bonnets  and  frocks,  and 
silver-mounted  canes,  and  all  the  luxurious  fittings  of 
your  houses,  but  trophies  of  India's  misery,  mementoes  of 
India's  starvation !  Every  rupee  3'ou  have  spent  on 
Europe-made  articles  is  a  rupee  of  which  you  have  robbed 
your  poorer  brethren,  honest  handicraftsmen,  who  can  now 
no  longer  earn  a  living.  Of  course  I  know  that  it  was 
pure  philanthropy  which  flooded  India  with  English-made 
goods,  and  surely,  if  slowly,  killed  out  every  indigenous 
industry — pure  philanthropy  which,  to  facilitate  this, 
repealed  the  import  duties  and  flung  away  three  crores  a 
year  of  a  revenue  which  the  rich  paid,  and  to  balance  this 
wicked  sacrifice  raised  the  salt  tax,  wliich  the  poor  pay  ; 
which  is  now  pressing  factory  regulations  on  us,  to  kill,  if 
possible,  the  one  tiny  new  industrial  departure  India 
could  boast.  Oh,  yes,  it  is  all  philanthropy,  but  the 
result  is  that  from  this  cause,  amongst  others,  your 
brethren  are  starving. 


THE    SEVENTH    CONGRESS  127 

Not  30  years  ago  wheat  sold  for  1|  maunds  and  gram 
for  2  maunds  for  the  rupee,  for  our  grain  was  not  exported 
to  foreign  lands.  Now  it  is  six  times  as  dear,  and  six 
times  as  hard  for  the  poor  to  fill  their  bellies,  because  our 
philanthropists  have  conjured  up  the  phantasm  of  free 
trade  to  drain  our  granaries.  Free  trade,  fair  play 
between  nations,  how  I  hate  the  sham.  What  fair  play 
in  trade  can  there  be  between  impoverished  India  and  the 
bloated  capitalist  England  ?  As  well  talk  of  a  fair  fight 
between  an  infant  and  a  strong  man — a  rabbit  and  a  boa- 
constrictor.  No  doubt  it  is  all  in  accordance  with  high 
economic  science,  but,  my  friends,  remember  this — this, 
too — is  starving  your  brethren. 

And  our  good  Government  is  so  grieved  at  the  decay 
of  all  native  industries,  so  anxious  that  we  should  once 
more  be  in  a  position  to  supply  ourselves  and  find  work 
here  for  our  people,  that  they  have  established,  I  believe, 
nearly  one  dozen  technical  schools,  amongst  300  millions 
of  people. 

He  complained  bitterly  that  Indians  might  not 
manage  their  own  finance,  though  Akbar  trusted  his 
finance  to  Hindu  ministers,  who  ahvays  had  large 
surpluses  and  mone}"  to  spare. 

Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  took  up  the  growing  military 
expenditure,  and  showed  that  the  peasantry  were 
being  ruined  by  the  revenue  system  of  British  India. 
Between  1864  and  1885  the  military  expenditure 
had  increased  by  five  crores.  In  1869  it  stood  at  14 
crores.  Since  1885-86  to  1890-01  it  had  increased 
54  crores,  and  it  continued  to  increase. 

Our  readei'S  will  remember  that  Mr.  Gokhale's 
Bill  for  Education  was  rejected  as  involving  an 
expenditure  of   "between  5  and  10  crores  annually  ". 

Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  remarked  that 
Indian  soldiers  had  gone   outside  India,  and  had  shed 


128  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

their  blood  for  the  Queen  whei-ever  she  wished,  but 
they  could  only  be  Subedar  and  Resaldai-  Majors, 
subject,  after  25  years  of  service,  "  to  the  sub- 
lieutenant who  joined  yesterday  ".  It  was  said  they 
spoke  with  bitterness  and  warmth  :  "  It  is  the  man 
who  is  being  flogged  who  cries  out,  not  the  mere 
bystanders/'  Mr.  K.  G.  Deshpande  dealt  with  the 
frequent  land  assessments,  showing  their  ruinous 
effect  on  the  peasantry,  and  the  alisurdity  of 
arguing  from  the  rise  in  prices  for  peasants, 
who  cultivated  not  to  sell,  but  to  eat.  Others 
followed,  one  land-holder  saying  that  in  his 
district  a  new  settlement  had  recently  been 
made  which  in  one  sub-district  had  enhanced  the 
revenue  66,  in  another  99,  in  a  third  116  per  cent. 
In  a  few  villages  the  revenue  had  been  raised  300  to 
1,500  per  cent.  The  peasants  were  being  destroyed. 
The  President   sunnned  up  the  discussion  caustically  : 

The  result  of  the  whole  argument  is  tlmt  there  are 
facts  and  figures  of  a  very  telling  character  impaling  us 
on  the  h(jrns  of  a  dilemma  :  either,  if  we  believe  the 
authorities,  to  submit  to  Russian  aggression,  or,  if  we 
look  to  facts,  to  calmly  look  on  when  millions  upon 
millions  of  our  countrymen  die  of  famine  every  decade. 
That  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  tlie  whole  of  what  has 
been  said.  We  call  upon  tlie  Government  to  take  away  the 
one  horn  of  that  dilemma,  which  is  based  on  undeniable 
facts  and  is  goring  us  even  now,  and  leave  us,  if  needs  be, 
exposed  to  that  other  shadowy  and  still  very  distant  horn, 
in  which,  sooth  to  say,  we  have  no  belief. 

The  Resolution  was  unanimously  carried. 

Mr.  B.  G.  Tilak   moved   Resolution  IV,  urging  that 

the  question  :  As  the  British  Government  defends  you. 


THE    SEVENTH    CONGRESS  129 

why  want  arms  ?  was  easily  answered.  The  Govern- 
ment undertakes  to  defend  250  millions  of  people 
against  wild  beasts  and  the  wild  bear  of  the  north. 
As  their  own  returns  show,  they  do  not  defend  the 
people  against  wild  beasts,  and  as  for  the  northern 
enemy  they  would  doubtless  do  their  best  when  the 
time  came,  but  meanwhile  their  preparations  were 
crushing  the  life  out  of  the  country.  They  did  not 
wish  the  people  starved  to  death,  because  the  Russians 
might  make  a  raid  25  years  hence. 

Mr.  Ali  Muhammad  Bhimji  remarked  that  the 
German  soldier  cost  Es.  145,  the  French  Rs.  185, 
the  English  in  England  Rs.  285,  but  in  India  Rs.  775. 
The  income  per  head  in  England  was  £4-2,  in  France 
£23,  in  Germany  £18,  in  India  £1.  10s.  Others  follow- 
ed and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  V,  for  simultaneous  examinations,  was 
proposed,  seconded  and  carried,  and  Resolution  VI 
on  Taxation  and  Excise  was  also  carried.  On  Resolu- 
tion VII,  on  the  Judicial  and  Police  Administration, 
the  President  gave  a  case  which  should  be  placed 
on  record  :  a  magistrate  was  determined  to  convict 
an  accused,  and  his  prejudice  was  so  marked 
that  the  case  was  sent  to  the  Sessions ;  the  last 
sentence  in  his  order  ran  :  "  I  am  perfectly 
satisfied  as  to  the  guilt  of  the  accused ;  I  was 
prepared  to  convict  him  and  pass  sentence  on 
him,  but  my  hands  have  been  tied."  The  Sessions 
Court,  after  hearing  the  case  for  the  prosecution, 
acquitted  the  accused  honorably,  without  calling  on 
him  for  any  defence. 


130  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Mr.  Herambo  Chandra  Maitra,  in  moving  Reso- 
lution VIII  on  education,  declared  that  they  would 
not  allow  the  Government  to  assert,  uncontradicted, 
that  it  was  anxious  to  promote  primary  education, 
while  doing  nothing  for  it,  and  trying  to  withdraw 
from  higher  education.  If  the  educated  were  a 
"  microscopical  minority,"  who  but  the  Government 
were  to  blame  ?    He  concluded  with  a  fine  appeal  : 

It  is  hard  upon  three  score  years  ago  that  this  great 
problem  formally  forced  itself  on  the  consideration  of  the 
British  Nation  :  "  Shall  we  for  ever  retain  these  Indians, 
whose  destinies  God  has  confided  to  our  charge,  ignorant 
and  as  slaves,  or  shall  we  educate  and  raise  them  to  be  fit 
and  anxious  to  join,  as  free  men,  in  the  administration  of 
their  own  country  P  "  Day  after  day,  in  both  Houses  of 
Parliament,  the  great  debate  was  carried  on,  until  the 
Nation,  through  its  peers  and  representatives,  decided  for 
the  latter  and  nobler  course.  For  years  this  decision  was 
honestly  acted  up  to,  and  Lord  Derby's  (then  Lord 
Stanley's)  despatch  of  1859  and  John  Stuart  Mill's  famous 
despatch  of  1854,  remain  proofs  of  the  honesty  of  purpose 
of  the  British  Nation.  But  ever  since  the  Congress  arose  to 
advocate  and  vindicate  the  cause  of  constitutional  freedom, 
and  threaten  the  autocratic  powers  and  exclusive  privileges 
of  the  great  Indian  bureaucracy,  this  latter,  alarmed  for 
these  its  cherished  possessions,  has  begun  to  crave  for  a 
retrogade  movement  into  the  policy  which  their  nobler 
countrymen,  60  years  ago,  indignantly  repudiated. 

It  is  too  late,  my  friends — too  late  ;  the  seed  has  been 
sown  broadcast,  has  germinated,  is  germinating  every- 
where ;  in  vain  you  try  now  everywhere  to  repress  and 
discourage  higher  education  by  every  insidious  means. 
YoiT  may  delay,  but  you  cannot  destroy.  You  may  earn 
hatred,  you  cannot  secure  the  enslavement  of  those  who 
now  know  that  they  are  free  British  subjects.  It  is  too 
late  ;  put  aside  this  folly,  accept  the  inevitable  and  fore- 
seen results  of  the  policy  your  noljler  predecessors 
(lelibei-ately  adopted.      Abstain  from  (h'scouraging,  as   you 


THE  SEVENTH  CONGRKSS  131 

now  are  discouraging,  education  ;  be  true  to  the  higher  and 
l)etter  impulses  of  a  Briton's  heart  ;  be  true  to  the  edicts  of 
your  senates,  the  orders  of  our  Queen-Empress  ;  stimulate, 
heart  and  soul,  as  in  days  gone  by,  education  of  all  kinds 
and  of  every  grade,  and  then,  in  lieu  of  a  Frankenstein 
monster  ever  on  the  alert  to  destroy  you,  you  will  find  in 
the  educated  generations  that  will  rally  round  you,  not 
indeed  the  servile  sycophants  tliat  ignorance  might  have 
furnished  you,  but  true,  loyal  and  capable  coileagues, 
whose  foremost  aim  and  chief  glory  it  Avill  be  to  labour  on 
equal  terms,  side  by  side  with  you,  to  secure  the  safety, 
honour  and  welfare  of  our  common  Sovereign  and  all  her 
dominions. 

Mr.  Gr.  K.  Gokhale  seconded,  not  as  thinking  that 
anything  would  come  from  a,  Commission,  but  Com- 
mission Reports  were  useful  to  students.  Education 
meant  the  growth  of  the  section  which  worked  to 
secure  the  happiness  and  contentment  of  the  people. 
"  Truly  in  the  happiness  and  contentment  of  India's 
people  lie  England's  glory  and  England's  strength  ; 
and  in  England's  sense  of  honour  and  justice  lie,  at 
this  critical  period,  all  our  hopes  and  all  our  aspira- 
tions." 

With  the  passing  of  this  Resolution  the  Congress 
adjourned. 

The  third  day  opened  with  a  Resolution  which 
recited  a  telegram  from  General  Booth  and  proposed 
the  reply  drafted  by  the  Subjects  Committee,  which 
was  unanimously^  adopted  by  the  Congress  and  carried 
as  Resolution  IX, 

Mr.  W.  C.  Bannerji    then    brought    up   the  report 

of    the    Committee  appointed  by  Resolution  I,  recom- 

.  mending  that  the  Congress  should  continue  its  annual 


132  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

sittings  and  this,  seconded  by  Pandit  Ayodhj'anath, 
was  carried  as  Resolution  X. 

Mr.  Peter  Paul  Pillai  moved  Resolution  XI  on  the 
Forest  Laws,  and  depicted  the  injury  to  agriculture 
caused  by  them  in  the  Madras  Presidency  to  which 
he  belonged  : 

With  a  single  stroke  of  tlie  legislators'  pen,  the 
Forest  Laws  have  extinguished  the  communal  rights  of 
the  ryot — rights  which  have  been  enjoyed  from  time 
immemorial — rights  recognised  and  respected  by  former 
Governments,    and   even   by   the   British    Government    in 

former    times By     the    extinction    of    communal 

rights  village  society  has  been  revolutionised  ....  Under 
pressure  of  necessity  they  are  driven  to  infringe  the  all- 
embracing  Forest  Laws  and  thus  stand  liable  to  criminal 
prosecution.  For  petty  infringements  of  these  vexatious 
forest  ordinances,  thousands  of  criminal  prosecutions  take 
place  in  my  district. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Forest  Laws  have  done 
more  to  alienate  the  peasantry  from  British  rule  than 
any  other  thing  ;  the  Salt  Tax  is  bad  ;  the  Assessment 
Settlements  are  cruel ;  but  the  Forest  Law^s  sting  at 
every  point,  and  the  unhappy  peasant,  doing  as  his 
forefathers  have  done  for  countless  generations,  finds 
himself  haled  up  as  a  criminal.  Mr.  Pillai  showed 
that  the  Govermnent  had  realised  in  1890  a  lakh  and 
a  half  from  pasture  fees,  and  three  and  a  half  lakhs 
as  penal  fees  by  impounding  cattle  for  trespass  on 
the  confiscated  communal  lands.  In  one  district, 
North  Ai-cot,  during  January  to  September,  1891, 
300,000  cattle  perished  for  want  of  pasture  over  and 
above  the  normal  mortality.  Mr,  Pillai  recounted  a 
number   of    other  grievances,   and    said — he   was  an 


THE    SEVENTH    CONGRESS  133 

Indian  Christian — that  all  appeals  to  press  and 
Government  having  failed,  their  only  hope  was  in  the 
Congress. 

Among  other  speakers  was  Mr.  S.  B.  Bhate,  who 
said  that  in  his  district  the  cattle  were  starving 
because  of  the  forest  administration,  which  would  not 
even  open  the  old  grazing  land  temporarily,  and  pea- 
sants were  giving  their  cattle  away,  and  selling 
10  or  12  for  a  rupee.  Mr.  Nunbkar  spoke,  "  an 
original  inhabitant,"  he  said,  "  of  a  poor  hilly  village  in 
a  poor  district  ".  Forests,  jungles,  wilds,  gave  things 
men  wanted,  fuel,  wood,  grass,  stones,  earth,  leaves, 
bark,  roots  ;  all  had  been  taken  from  them,  not  by 
God,  but  by  avaricious  men.  For  hundreds  of  genera- 
tions they  had  enjoyed  these  unchallenged,  and  now 
they  were  deprived  of  Avhat  nature  gave  them. 
Forests  were  blessings  in  the  days  of  Hindu  and 
Muhammadan  rulers  ;  now  they  were  curses.  His  land 
was  on  the  hills,  but  he  could  not  use  forest,  brush, 
scrub,  though  they  were  his  own.  He  might  not  use 
leaves  from  his  own  trees,  though  he  had  grown  them. 
Where  might  his  cattle  graze  ?  The  forest  reserves 
Avere  not  fenced,  and  cattle  trespassed,  aiid  the  owners 
were  fined.  A  villager,  having  no  doctor,  tried 
to  gather  medicinal  herbs,  he  was  fined  ;  the  herbs 
were  all  in  the  forests.  Nothing  could  add  to  the 
pathos  of  the  simple  recital  of  the  facts  among  Avhich 
the  speaker  lived.  The  Resolution  was,  of  course, 
unanimously  passed. 

Resolutions  followed  of  thanks  to   friends  living   in 
this    world,      of    grief     and      gratitude     to     Charles 
12 


134  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Bradlaugh,  lost  to  India's  cause.  Several  voiced  their 
deep  and  abiding  sorrow,  and  all  stood  in  silent 
reverence     till    the    Resolution  was  declared  carried. 

Resolution  XV  postponed  the  holding  of  a  Con- 
gress in  London  as  a  General  Election  was  impending. 
Funds  were  voted  to  the  British  Committee,  Mr.  A.  0. 
Hume  and  Pandit  Ayodhyanath  were  elected  General 
and  Joint  General  Secretaries,  the  invitation  to 
Allahabad  for  the  next  Session  of  the  Congress  was 
accepted,  and  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  President  was 
passed.     Thus  ended  the  Seventh  National  Congress. 

No  one  who  reads  these  records  of  Congress  work 
can  fail  to  recognise  the  single  eye  to  the  freedom, 
prosperity,  and  happiness  of  the  Motherland  ever 
shown  by  the  Congress.  The  intense  sympathy  with 
the  sufferings  of  the  masses,  the  effort  to  gain  pri- 
mary education  for  them,  the  protest  against  the 
laws  and  administration  that  were  reducing  the 
peasantry  to  hopeless  poverty,  these  were  all  close  to 
the  heart  of  the  Congressman.  Never  was  there  a 
falser  accusation  than  that  which  tried  to  divide  the 
Voice  of  India  from  the  inarticulate  masses  whose 
sufferings  it  proclaimed,  by  cg^lling  the  Congress  a 
movement  merely  of  discontented  educated  men, 
wanting  place  and  power. 

RESOLUTIONS 

I.  Resolved — That  a  Committee  be  appointed  to  consider  and 
report,  on  or  before  the  morning  of  the  30th  instant,  whether,  or 
not,  it  is  advisable  to  discontinue  the  Annual  Sessions  of  the  Indian 
National  Congress  until  after  the  British  Session,  and,  if  not,  under 
what  regulations,  as  to  numbers  of  delegates,  localities  for  assem- 
blage, and  the  like,  future  Congresses  shall  be  held.  The  Committee 
to  be  composed  as  follows  : 


THE    SEVENTH    CONGRESS  135 

Ex-Officio  Members  : 

The  President. 

The  Chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee. 

The  General  Secretary. 

The  Joint  General  Secretary. 

The  Standing  Counsels  to  the  Congress. 

Ordinary  Members: 

Messrs.  Surendranath  Bannerji.        Messrs.  Murlidhar. 

Viraraghava  Chariar.  Mudholkar. 

Hafiz  M.Abdul  Rahim.  Deo  Rao  Vinayak. 

Gangaprasad  Varma.  Gopal  Rao  Bhide. 

Pringle  Kennedy.  Bipin  Krishna  Bose. 

Guruprasad  Sen.  Daji  Abaji  Khare. 

D.  E.  Wacha.  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya. 

M.  B.  Namjoshi.  Saligram  Singh. 

Hamid  Ali  Khan.  Sankara  Nair. 
Vishnu  Moreshwar  Bhide. 

Representation 

II.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  reafl&rms  the  conclusion 
arrived  at  by  all  previous  Congresses,  viz.,  that  India  can  never  be 
well  or  justly  governed,  nor  her  people  prosperous  or  contented, 
until  they  are  allowed,  through  their  elected  representatives,  a 
potential  voice  in  the  Legislatures  of  their  own  country,  and  respect- 
fully urges  the  people  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  whose  good 
will  towards  India  it  gratefully  recognises,  to  permit  no  further 
delay  in  the  concession  of  this  just  and  necessary  reform. 

III.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  concurring  in  the  views 
set  forth  in  previous  Congresses,  affirms — 

That  fully  fifty  millions  of  the  population,  a  number  yearly 
increasing,  are  dragging  out  a  miserable  existence  on  the  verge  of 
starvation,  and  that,  in  every  decade,  several  millions  actually 
perish  by  starvation. 

That  this  unhappy  condition  of  affairs  is  largely  due  to — 

(a)  the  exclusion  of  the  people  of  India  from  a  due 
participation  in  the  administration,  and  all  control  over  the 
finances,  of  their  own  country,  the  remedy  for  which  has  been  set 
forth  in  Resolution  II  ;  to 

(h)  the  extravagant  cost  of  the  present  administration, 
Military  and  Civil,  but  especially  the  former ;  and  to 


136  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

(c)  a  short-sighted  system  of  Land  Revenue  Administration, 
whereby  not  only  is  all  improvement  in  the  agriculture  of  the 
country,  on  which  nine-tenths  of  the  population  depend  for 
subsistence,  rendered  impossible,  but  the  gradual  deterioration  of 
that  agriculture  assured. 

That  hence  it  has  become  inif)eratively  necessary — 

that  the  cost  of  the  administration  be  greatly  reduced  ;  in  the 
Military  branch,  by  a  substantial  rediiction  of  the  standing  army,  by 
the  substitution  of  long  term  local  European  troops  like  those  of  the 
Hon.  E.  I.  Company,  for  the  present  short  term  Imperial  regiments 
with  their  heavy  cost  of  recruitment  in  England,  in  transport  and  of 
excessive  mortality  amongst  non-acclimatised  youths;  by  the 
cessation  of  the  gigantic  waste  of  money,  that  has  gone  on  now  for 
several  years,  on  so-called  Frontier  Defences,  and  by  a  strict 
economy  in  the  Commissariat,  Ordnance  and  Store  Departments  ; 
and  in  the  Civil  branch,  by  the  wide  substitution  of  a  cheaper 
indigenous  agency  for  the  extremely  costly  imported  Staff ;  and 
that  measures  be  at  once  taken  to  give,  as  was  promised  by  the 
British  Government  thirty  years  ago,  fixity  and  permanence  to  the 
Land  Revenue  demand  and  thus  permit  capital  and  labour  to 
combine  to  develop  the  agriculture  of  the  country,  which,  under  the 
existing  system  of  temporary  settlements,  in  recent  times  often 
lasting  for  short  periods,  in  some  cases  only  extending  to  10  and 
12  years,  is  found  to  be  impossible  ;  and  to  establish  Agricultural 
Banks. 

That  this  Congress  docs  most  earnestly  entreat  the  people  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  not  to  permit  any  further  sacrifice  of  life 
by  the  shortcomings  of  the  existing,  doubtless  well-intentioned, 
but  none  the  less  unsatisfactory,  administration,  but  to  insist,  and 
speedily,  on  these  reforms. 

Military 

IV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  concurring  with  previous 
Congresses,  is  of  opinion  that,  to  ensure  the  adecpiate  protection 
and  efficient  defence  of  the  country,  it  is  desirable  that  the  GovelTi- 
ment  should  conciliate  Indian  public  opinion  and  encourage  and 
qualify  the  Indians  to  defend   their  homes  and  their  Government — 

(n)  by  so  modifying  the  rules  under  the  Arms  Act,  as  to 
make  them  equally  applicable  to  all  residents  in,  or  visitors  to, 
India,  without  distinction  of  creed,  class  or  colour  ;  to  ensure  the 
liberal  concession  of  licences  wherever  wild  animals  habitually 
destroy  human  life,  cattle  or  crops,  and  to  make  all  licences,  granted 
under  the  revised  rules,  of  lifelong  tenure,  revocable  only  on  proof 
of  misuse,  and  valid  throughout  the  Provincial  Jurisdiction  in  which 
they  are  issued ; 


THE    SEVENTH    CONGRESS  137 

(6)  by  establishing  Military  Colleges  in  India,  whereat 
natives  of  India,  as  defined  by  Statute,  may  be  educated  and  trained 
for  a  military  career,  as  commissioned  or  non-coinmissioned  officers 
(according  to  capacity  and  qualifications)  of  the  Indian  army  ; 

{(•)  by  organising,  throughout  the  more  warlike  races  of  the 
Empire,  a  system  of  Militia  service  ;  and 

{d)  b)^  authorising  and  stimulating  a  widespread  system  of 
Volunteering,  such  as  obtains  in  Great  Britain,  amongst  the  people 
of  India. 

Taxation  and  Excise 

V.  Resolved  — That  as  one  step  towards  ensuring  the  wider 
employment  of  Indians  in  the  administration  of  the  country,  and  as 
a  matter  of  simple  justice  to  the  people  of  India,  this  Congress, 
agreeing  with  previous  Congresses,  declares  it  to  be  essential  that 
all  examinations  for  any  and  all  of  the  Civil  branches  of  the  Public 
Service  in  India,  which  at  present  are  held  only  in  England,  should 
henceforth  be  also  held  simultaneously  in  India. 

VI.  Resolved  — That  this  Congress  concurs  with  its  predecessors 
in  strongly  advocating — 

(ff)  the  reduction  of  the  salt  tax,  by  at  least  the  amount  of 
its  latest  enhancement ; 

(6)  the  raising  of  the  income  tax  taxable  minimum  from 
Rs.  500  to  Rs.  1,000; 

(c)  persistent  pressure  bj^  the  Government  of  India  on  all 
Provincial  Adniinisti'ations,  to  induce  them  to  carry  out,  in  its 
integrity,  the  excise  policy  enunciated  in  paras  103,  104  and  105 
of  the  despatch,  published  in  TJic  Gazette  of  India,  oi  March  1st, 
1890,  and  the  introduction  of  a  simjjle  system  of  local  option  in  the 
case  of  all  villages. 

Liaw  and  Police 

VII.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  unsatisfactory 
character,  in  many  respects,  of  the  Judicial  and  Police  Administra- 
tion, this  Congi-ess  concurs  with  its  predecessors  in  strongly 
advocating — 

(a)  the  complete  separation  of  Executive  and  Judicial  functions, 
such  that  in  no  case  shall  the  two  functions  he  combined  in  the  same 
officer ; 

(Z))  the  extension  in  many  parts  of  the  country,  where  it 
is  not  at  present  in  force,  of  the  system  of  trial  by  jury  ; 

(c)  the  withdrawal  from  High  Courts  of  the  powers,  first 
vested  in  them  in  1872,  of  setting  aside  verdicts  of  acquittals  by 
juries  ; 


138  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

(d)  the  introduction,  into  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure 
of  a  provision  enabling  accused  persons,  in  wariant  cases,  to  demand 
that  instead  of  being  tried  by  the  Magistrate  they  be  committed  to 
the  court  of  sessions  ; 

(e)  the  fundamental  reform  of  the  Police  Administration,  by 
a  reduction  in  the  numbers  and  an  increase  in  the  salaries,  and  in 
the  qualifications  of  the  lower  grades,  and  their  far  more  careful 
enlistment,  and  by  the  selection  for  the  higher  posts  of  gentlemen  of 
higher  capacities,  more  in  touch  with  the  respectable  portions  of 
the  community,  and  less  addicted  to  military  pretensions,  than  the 
majority  of  the  existing  Deputy  Inspectors-General,  Superintendents 
and  Assistant  Superintendents,  of  Police. 

Education 

VIII.  Eesolved— That  this  Congress,  concurring  with  pre- 
vious Congresses,  affirms  the  importance  of  increasing  (instead  of 
diminishing,  as  appears  to  be  the  present  policy  of  the  Govern- 
ment) the  public  expenditure  on  all  branches  of  education,  and  the 
expediency,  in  view  to  the  promotion  of  one  of  the  most  essential 
of  these  branches,  the  technical,  of  appointing  a  mixed  Commission 
to  enquire  into  the  present  industrial  condition  of  the  country. 

General  Booth 

IX. 

Read  the  folloiinng  telegram  from  General  Booth  : 

"  May  I  be  allowed  to  commend  to  the  attention  of  the  Congress, 
the  claims  of  the  millions  of  India's  starving  poor,  and  to  urge  the 
consideration  of  some  scheme  by  which  these  destitute  multitudes 
can  be  placed  upon  the  waste  lands  of  the  country,  in  such  an 
organised  and  befriended  manner  as  will  enable  them  to  gain  for 
themselves,  those  necessaries  of  a  healthy  existence  which,  in  their 
present  circumstances,  are  denied  ;  praying  for  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  the  labours  of  the  Congress,  yours,  in  sympathy  with  every 
effort  for  the  amelioration  of  the  miseries  of  mankind." 

Resolved— That  the  following  telegram  be  despatched  in  reply 
to  General  Booth : 

"  The  Congress,  having  received  and  considered  your  kindlj'' 
message,  thank  j'ou  cordially  for  the  same.  No  possible  scheme  of 
internal  immigration  can  perceptibly  relieve  the  fifty  to  sixty 
millions  of  half-starving  paupers,  whose  sad  condition  constitutes 
the  primary  raison  d'etre  of  the  Congress.  It  is  only  by  modifying 
the  adverse  conditions  out  of  which  this  widespread  misery  arises, 
and   by   raising   the   moral    standard   of  the     people,  that  any  real 


THE    SEVENTH    CONGRESS  139 

relief  is  possible.  As  regards  the  first,  the  Congress  programme 
now  embodies  all  primarily  essential  reforms;  as  regards  the  second, 
in  every  Province  and  in  every  caste,  associations,  public  or  private, 
are  working  with  a  yearly  increasing  earnestness.  Many  good 
missionaries  are  labouring  in  the  same  field,  and  we  have  to  thank 
you  that  your  Army  too  is  now  engaged  in  the  good  work  of 
elevating  our  masses.  May  your  eiforts  and  ours,  in  both  directions, 
be  crowned  with  success.  Congress,  including  men  of  many  creeds, 
welcomes  cordially  all  who  seek  to  benefit  our   suffering  brethren." 

Congress  Work 


Read  the  Report  of  the  Committee  appointed,  under  Resolution  I, 
which  runs  as  follows  : 

"  Your  Committee  ha^'e  considered  the  matter  referred  to  them 
and  have  also  consulted,  informally,  various  members  of  the 
Subjects  Committee  and  other  delegates.  They  are  clearly  of 
opinion  that  it  is  not  advisable  to  discontinue  the  Annual  Session 
of  the  Indian  National  Congress  until  after  the  British  Session,  and 
that  future  Congresses  should  be  held  under  the  same  regula- 
tions as  heretofore." 

Resolved  —That  the  Annual  Sessions  of  the  Congress  in  India 
continue  to  be  held  until  all  necessary  refomns  have  been  secured. 

XV.  Resolved — That  in  view  of  the  General  Election  now 
impending  in  England,  and  in  accordance  with  the  recommendation 
of  our  British  Committee,  the  provisional  arrangements,  set  on  foot 
in  pursuance  of  the  Resolution  passed  at  the  Calcutta  Congress  of 
1890,  for  holding,  all  things  being  convenient,  a  Congress  of  not 
less  than  100  Delegates  in  England  in  1892,  be  now  suspended  until 
after  such  General  Election. 

XVI.  Resolved — That  a  sum  of  Rs.  40,000,  e.Kclusive  of 
individual  donations,  is  assigned  for  the  expenses  of  the  British 
Committee  of  the  Congress,  and  Rs.  6,000  for  the  General  Secretary's 
office  and  establishment,  and  that  the  several  circles  do  contribute 
as  arranged  in  Committee  for  the  year  1892. 

Forest  Laws 

XI.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  very  serious  discon- 
tent created,  especially  in  Peninsular  India,  by  the  practical 
administration  of  the  Forest  Laws,  the  Government  of  India  be 
most  respectfully,  but  eai-nestly,  entreated  to  investigate  this  care- 
fully, and  endeavour  to  mitigate  its  harshness  and  render  it  less 
obnoxious  to  the  poorer  classes. 


140  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Thanks  of  Congress  , 

XII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  hereby  tenders  its  most 
grateful  acknowledgments  to  Sir  W.  Wedderburn,  and  the  members 
of  the  British  Congress  Committee,  for  the  services  rendered  by 
them  to  India  during  the  past  year,  and  respectfully  urges  them  to 
widen  henceforth  the  sphere  of  their  usefulness,  by  interesting 
themselves,  not  only  in  those  questions  dealt  with  by  the  Congress 
here,  but  in  all  Indian  matters  submitted  to  them,  and  properly 
vouched  for,  in  which  any  ju-inciple  accepted  bj'  the  Congress  is 
involved. 

XIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  puts  on  record  an  expres- 
sion of  the  gratitude  felt,  thi'oughout  India,  for  the  signal  services 
rendered  by  the  late  Mr.  Charles  Bradlaugh  to  that  country's 
cause,  and  of  the  deep  and  universal  sorrow  which  his  untimely 
death  has  engendered  ;  and  that  a  copy  of  this  Resolution,  signed 
by  the  President,  be  transmitted  through  the  British  Committee 
for  presentation  to  Mrs.  Bradlaugh  Bonner. 

XIV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  hereby,  puts  formally  on 
record  its  high  estimate  and  deep  appreciation  of  the  great  services 
which  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji  has  rendered,  during  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  to  the  cause  of  India ;  that  it  expresses  its 
unshaken  confidence  in  him  and  its  earnest  hope  that  he  may 
prove  successful,  at  the  coming  elections,  in  his  candidature  for 
Central  Finsbury,  and,  at  the  same  time,  tenders,  on  behalf  of  the 
vast  population  it  represents,  India's  most  cordial  acknowledgments 
to  all  in  England,  whether  in  Central  Finsbury  or  elsewhere,  who 
have  aided,  or  may  aid  him,  to  win  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

Formal 

XVII.  Resolved— That  Mr.  A.  O.  Hume  and  Pandit  Ayodhya- 
nath  are  re-elected  General  and  Joint-General  Secretaries  for  the 
ensuing  year. 

XVIII.  Resolved — That  the  Eighth  Indian  National  Congress 
do  assemble  on  the  26th  December,  1892,  at  Allahabad. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

The  Eighth  National  Congress  met  at  Allahabad  on 
December  28,  1892,  in  the  same  place  as  the  Fourth, 
in  Lowther  Castle  and  its  grounds,  but  these  were 
now  lent  by  the  Maharaja  of  Darbhanga  instead  of 
being  leased,  hot-foot,  to  secure  an  abidiug-place 
against  the  efforts  of  the  official  elements  in  Allaha- 
bad. The  Maharaja  had  been  a  warm  supporter 
of  the  National  Movement,  and,  as  he  had  become 
possessed  of  Lowther  Castle,  he  gladly  placed  it  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Congress.  There  was  raised  the 
Pavilion  for  the  Congress,  holding  3,500  chairs,  to 
accommodate  the  delegates  and  the  expected  visitors. 
The  country  was  represented  as  follows  : 


Madras 

...     38 

Bombay 

...     77 

C.  P.,  Berar  and  Secunderabad 

...     63 

Bengal 

...   105 

N.  W.  P.  and  Oudh 

...  323 

Pan  jab 

...     19 

625 


The  Chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee  was 
Pandit  Bishambharnath,  whose  health  was  very 
•weak,  but  who   succeeded   in  delivering  a  short  but 


142  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOE    FEEEDOM 

admirable  speech.  After  welcoming  the  delegates, 
he  made  a  touching  reference  to  the  loss  the  move- 
ment had  sustained  in  the  passing  away  of  that 
sterling  patriot,  Pandit  Ayodhyanath,  and  then  said 
a  few  strong  words  for  the  Congress  : 

Every  true  Eugiisbman,  with  whom  the  love  of 
liberty  is  an  instinct,  must  rejoice  in  bis  heart  to  witness 
that  that  proud  day  in  the  history  of  the  British  occupa- 
tion of  India  has  come,  when  the  children  of  the  soil  have 
learnt  to  stand  upon  their  feet,  and  are  now  claiming  their 
just  rights  in  a  constitutional  manner.  Both  posterity 
and  the  history  of  our  movement  when  written  calmly, 
will,  I  am  convinced,  accord  a  just  appreciation  to  its 
legitimate  aims  and  reasonable  objects.  They  not  only 
err,  but  sin,  and  sin  criminally  too,  who  insinuate  that  this 
movement  is  calculated  to  sap  and  undermine  the  founda- 
tion of  constituted  authority  ....  We  are  now  at  the 
fag-end  of  the  19th  century,  and  live  under  the  ^gis  of 
a  rule  which  recognises  only  lawful  agitation  by  consti- 
tutional means.  Hence  the  necessit}^  of  our  resorting  to 
such  a  course.  Whether  such  agitation  is  a  blessing  or 
a  curse  of  the  present  civilisation,  I  do  not  propose  to 
discuss  here.  We  must  go  on,  and  go  on  vigorously,  and 
not  cease  to  agitate  until  we  reach  the  goal  of  our 
am^bition. 

Mr.  P.  Ananda  Charlu  proposed,  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha 
seconded,  the  election  of  Mr.  W.  C.  Bannerji  as 
President.  It  was  put  and  unanimously  carried,  and 
he  took  the  chair.  A  telegram  from  the  Maharaja 
of  Darbhanga  was  read,  which  welcomed  the  delegates 
to  Lowther  Castle,  and  expressed  his  pleasure  "  that 
the  first  use  of  this  property,  since  my  acquiring  it, 
has  been  for  Congress  purposes  ". 

Mr.  Bannerji,  in  delivering  his  Presidential  Address, 
referred  to  the  reasons  for  the  non-interference  by* 


THE    EIGHTH    CONGRESS  143 

the  Congress  with  social  questions,  and  then  said  a 
few  words  on  the  loss  the  movement  had  sustained  in 
the  passing  of  Pandit  Ayodhyanath  and  Mr.  George 
Yule,  who  had  been  respectively  the  President  of  the 
Reception  Committee  and  of  the  Congress,  when  the 
Congress  met  in  Allahabad  in  1888.  He  alluded  to 
the  passing  of  Lord  Cross '  India  Councils  Bill,  the 
value  of  which  depended  on  the  Rules  framed  to  give 
effect  to  it,  and  then  congratulated  the  Congress  on 
the  election  to  Parliament  of  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji 
by  the  Central  Finsbury  constituency — a  noble  and 
generous  recognition  of  the  claim  of  India  to  make 
her  voice  heard.  He  spoke  warmly  against  the 
withdrawal  of  grants  for  higher  education,  and 
scathingly  against  the  withdrawal  of  trial  by  jury 
in  seven  of  the  districts  of  Bengal  in  serious  cases. 
In  closing,  the  President  made  a  powerful  appeal 
on  the  right  of  Indians  to  be  heard,  in  answer  to  some 
who  had  said  that  an  agitation  of  theirs  might 
be  disregarded  because  "  it  was  only  a  '  native ' 
agitation  ". 

Is  our  voice  not  to  be  listened  to  because,  forsooth, 
to  that  voice  has  not  been  added  the  voice  of  our  European 
fellow-subjects  ?  We  would  welcome,  welcome  with  open 
arms,  all  the  support  which  we  can  get  from  our  European 

fellow-subjects But,    apart   from   that,    why   is  our 

voice  to  be  despised  ?  It  is  we  who  feel  the  pinch  ;  it  is 
we  who  have  to  suffer  ;  and  when  we  cry  out,  it  is  said 
to  us  :  "  Oh,  we  cannot  listen  to  you  ;  yours  is  a  con- 
temptible and  useless  and  a  vile  agitation,  and  we  will 
not  listen  to  you."  Time  was  when  we  natives  of  the 
country  agitated  about  any  matter,  witli  the  help  of  won- 
official  Europeans,  the  apologists  of  the  Government  used 
t,o  say  triumphantly  :   "  This  agitation  is  not  the  agitation 


144  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

of  the  natives  of  the  country,  but  has  been  got  up  by  a 
few  discontented  Europeans  ;  don't  listen  to  them,  it  is  not 
their  true  voice  ;  it  is  the  voice  of  these  Europeans." 
And  now  we  are  told  :  "  Don't  listen  to  them ;  it  is 
their  own  voice,  and  not  the  voice  of  the  Europeans." 

The  Subjects  Committee,  elected  by  the  delegates 
was  then  submitted  to  and  approved  by  the  Congress. 
A  telegram  was  sent  to  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji, 
congratulating  him  on  his  election  to  the  House  of 
Commons  and  thanking  the  electors  of  Central 
Finsbury,  and  the  Congress  adjourned. 

The  meeting  of  December  29tli  began  by  sending 
a  congratulatory  telegram  to  Mr.  Gladstone  on  his 
83rd  birthday,  and  then  the  President  read  out  the 
rules  for  the  conduct  of  business. 

The  first  Resolution,  accepting  the  India  Councils 
Bill,  but  regretting  that  it  did  not  formally  recognise 
the  right  of  the  Indian  people  to  elect  their  repre- 
sentatives, was  moved  by  Rai  Bahadur  Ananda 
Charlu,  who  emphasised  the  regret.  He  quoted 
Mr.  Gladstone,  who  looked  forward  to  "  not  merely 
a  nominal,  but  to  a  real  living  representation  of  the 
people  of  India,"  and  Lord  Salisbury,  who  said  : 

If  we  are  to  do  it,  and  if  it  has  to  be  done,  let  us  do 
it  systematically  ....  taking  care  that  the  machinery 
to  be  provided  shall  effect  the  purpose  of  giving  repre- 
sentation, not  to  accidentally  constituted  bodies,  not  to 
small  sections  of  the  people  here  and  there,  but  to  the 
living  strength  and  vital  forces  of  the  whole  community 
of  India. 

Mr.    Surendranath     Bannerji    seconding,  alluded  to 

the  statement    (often  heard  since)  that    the    Congress 

movement    was    discredited  and   enthusiasm   on    th§ 


THE    EIGHTH    CONGRESS  145 

wane,  and  remarked  that  this  very  Act  was  due  to  the 
Congress,  and  pointed  to  other  signs  of  progress. 
Mr.  Gladstone  had  spoken  in  1892  of  representative 
institutions  as  the  "  consecrated  possessions  .  .  . 
entrusted  to  the  care  and  the  guardianship  of  the 
English  people  ". 

We  appeal  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  we  appeal  to  his 
colleagues,  to  admit  us  into  this  inestimable  legacy  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race.  Wherever  floats  the  flag  of  England, 
Self- Gov ei'nm.ent  is  the  order  of  the  day.  Wherever 
Englishmen  have  gathered  together  in  their  Colonies,  be 
they  in  the  frig'id  zones  of  the  north,  or  amid  the  blazing 
heat  of  the  Equator,  or  in  those  distinct  tracts  watered 
l)y  the  southern  seas.  Self- Government  again  is  the  order 
of  the  day.  We  are  not  Englishmen,  or  men  of  English 
race  or  extraction,  but  we  are  British  subjects,  the 
citizens  of  a  great  and  free  Empire  ;  we  live  under  the 
protecting  shadows  of  one  of  the  noblest  Constitutions  the 
world  has  ever  seen.  The  rights  of  Englishmen  are  ours, 
their  privileges  are  ours,  their  Constitution  is  ours.  But 
we  are  excluded  froni  them.  How  long  is  this  exclusion 
to  last  ?  That  will  depend  very  much  upon  ourselves. 
If  we  are  true  to  the  traditions  of  the  Congress,  and  loyal 
to  the  noble  teachings  of  our  great  Chief,  who,  though  not 
present  in  body  is  present  in  spirit  with  us — if  we  live 
up  to  the  exalted  standard  of  his  noble  life,  if  we  con- 
secrate our  eiforts  by  the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  if  we  are 
unsparing  in  our  pecuniary  sacrifices,  unremitting  in  our 
personal  efl^orts,  then  the  great  God  who  presides  over 
the  destinies  of  fallen  Nations  will,  in  His  own  due  time, 
pour  clown  upon  us,  in  plentiful  abundance.  His  choicest 
blessings  ;  and  though  we  may  receive  a  temporary 
check,  and  the  flag  we  now  hold  aloft  may  drop  from  our 
sinking  hands,  I  am  confident  that  in  the  near  future  there 
will  rise  up  others,  wdio,  more  fortunately  situated  than 
ourselves,  will  carry  that  standard  to  victory,  and 
establish  in  this  luckless  land  those  principles  of 
,  liberty,  wdiich,  while  they  will  serve  to  weld  together 
13 


146  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

the  diversified  elements  of  our  common  Nationality, 
will  at  the  same  time  place  the  Empire  of  Britain  in  this 
country  upon  the  only  unchangeable  basis  upon  which  it 
can  rest,  the  loye,  the  g-ratitude,  and  the  contentment  of 
a  vast  and  immeasurable  population. 

The    Eesolution    was   supported   by   Raja  Rampal 

Sinha,   Mr.  M.  B.  Namjoslii,  Mr.  Uma  Shankar,  Hafiz 

Muhammad  Abdul  Rahim  and  Moulvi  Wahab-ud-din, 

and  carried  unanimously. 

The  second  Resolution  expressed  the  deep  regret 
of  the  Congress  with  the  resolution  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  on  the  Report  of  tlie  Public  Service 
Commission,  narrowing  even  the  proposals  made  by 
that  Commission.  It  was  proposed  by  Mr.  G.  K. 
Gokhale,  who  pointed  out  that  the  Report  of  the 
Commission  actually  put  Indians  in  a  worse  position 
than  they  were  in  before.  They  had  had  by  the 
rules  of  1879  "  one-sixth  of  the  whole  recruitment" 
each  year,  and  as  there  were  600-J-150  posts,  reserved 
and  unreserved,  Indians  wou.ld  have  had  125  posts. 
But,  by  a  juggle,  they  had  only  108  set  apart  for 
them.  These  108  should  have  been  incorporated  in  the 
Provincial  Service,  created  by  the  Commission  for 
Indians  only.  But  the  Secretary  of  State  managed 
to  have  93  or  94  of  these  kept  on  a  separate  list,  and 
would  appoint  to  them  under  the  Act  of  1870. 
Mr.  Gokhale  drily  said  that  he  was  not  sure  that  the 
discretion  of  Govermnent  would  not  be  abused.  Thus 
India  lost  the  certainty  of  tlie  108,  or  93,  appoint- 
ments, and  they  were  made  discretionary.  I^he 
number  recommended  was  reduced,  the  highest 
were  withheld,  and 


THE    EIGHTH    CONGRESS  147 

a  large  and  perilous  discretion  has  been  reserved 
by  Government  to  itself  which  is  almost  sure  to  be  abused. 
And  all  this  as  the  outcome  of  the  labours  of  a  Commission 
solemnly  appointed  to  do  full  justice  to  our  claim.s  for 
larger  and  more  extensive  employment  in  the  higher 
grades  of  the  Public  Service  ! 

On  simultaneous   examinations  Mr.   Gokhale  spoke 

forcibly  and  indignantly  : 

Unfortunately  the  fact  cannot  be  gainsaid,  that  of 
late  our  rulers  have  been  showing  a  disposition  to  regret 
the  promises  given  us  in  the  past  ;  and  I  should  not  be 
surprised  if  they  one  day  turned  round  and  said  that 
these  promises  were  never  intended  to  be  carried  out.  In 
that  case  I  say  it  would  be  well  for  them  to  openly  and 
publicly  fling  into  the  flames  all  these  promises  and 
pledges  as  so  much  waste  paper,  and  tell  us  once  for  all 
that,  after  all,  we  are  a  conquered  people,  and  can  have 
no  rights  or  privileges.  That  the  Government  has,  of 
late,  been  pursuing  a  policy  of  retrogression  is  clear  to 
every  one.  Turn  whichever  way  we  may,  we  find  that  a 
change,  and  a  change  for  the  worse,  is  coming  over  the 
spirit  of  the  Government.  Whether  you  consider  the 
Jury  Notification  in  Bengal,  or  the  curtailment  of  edu- 
cational grants,  or  the  treatment  accorded  to  Municipali- 
ties, you  cannot  help  feeling  that  Government  is  treating 
us  with  increasing  jealousy  and  mistrust  every  day.  And 
vmless .  this  regime  of  distrust  is  soon  changed,  unless 
the  policy  of  Government  is  inspired  by  more  sympathetic 
feelings,  darker  days  cannot  but  be  in  store  for  this  poor 
country. 

The  warning'  was   disregarded.     Mr.  Gokhale  was 

looked  on  as  an  enemy,  and  followed    by  police  spies, 

I  instead   of   being  looked   on  as  a  friend,  warning  the 

•  Government  of  dangers  which  he,  as  an  Indian,  knew 
to  exist,  but  to  which  the  Government  were  blind. 
When,  out  of  despair,  anarchism   was  born,  his  words 

•  were  remembered — too  late. 


148  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Pandit     Madan     Mohan     Malaviya   seconded     the 

Resolution,   and   after  giving  some  figures  to  "  show 

the     great    and    inordinate    drain   of   India's    money 

because   of  the  inordinate  employment  of  Europeans 

in   the  higher  ranks    of   the   Public   Service/'     that 

was    "  at   the   bottom   of  the  increasing    poverty    of 

the   people    of    this    country,"   went   on   to    support 

Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji  in  pressing  upon  the  attention  of 

Parliament   the  injustice  done  to  India  by  the  refusal 

of   simultaneous    examinations    in  India  and  England 

for    the     Indian    Civil    Service.       The    examinations 

ought    really    to    be    held    only    in    India,    since   the 

Service  was  Indian. 

It  is  sing-ularly  unjust  to  compel  the  people  of  this 
country  to  go  10,000  miles  away  from  their  country  to  pass 
an  examination  to  qualify  themselves  for  service  in  their 
own  country.  No  other  people  labour  under  such  an 
awful  disadvantage.  Must  we  alone  be  subjected  to  it 
because  we  are  the  subjects  of  a  strong  Power  like 
England  P  England,  we  know,  has  got  the  strength  of  a 
giant,  but  she  should  not  use  it  as  a  giant  in  enforcing 
unfair  terms  and  conditions  against  a  people  placed  by 
Providence  under  her  care,  but  should  allow  her  nobler 
instincts  to  guide  her  in  this  matter  as  they  have  guided 
her  in  many  others,  and  see  that  we  are  governed 
practically,  and  not  merely  theoretically,  in  consonance 
with  tliose  noble  principles  of  justice  and  good  govern- 
ment which  her  honoured  Sovereign  and  her  statesmen 
have  laid  down  for  the  purpose,  and  whicli  guide  her 
in  the  conduct  of  her  own  affairs.  We  pray  only  for 
a  fair  field  and  no  favour. 

Mr.  Gokhale   and    Pandit   Madan   Mohan  spoke  in 

1892.       Twenty-three    years    have    passed,    and    this 

little    concession    has    not    been    made  !  Still   India's 

sons     must     travel    10,000   miles    on    the    chance    of. 


THE    EIGHTH    CONGRESS  149 

entering  the  Indian  Civil  Service  in  a  competitive 
examination  for  the  number  of  posts  open  every  year, 
for  the  privilege  of  employment  in  their  own  country. 
And  in  the  face  of  this,  a  concession  that  would  cost 
England  nothing,  and  would  not  touch  the  funda- 
mental injustice  of  her  autocracy  here,  we  are  asked 
not  to  raise  any  controversial  question  now,  but  to 
trust  to  her  good-will  that  after  the  War  she  will 
give  us  Self-Government. 

The  Resolution  was  supported  by  Mr,  Janardana 
Raghunath  Nimkar,  Moulvi  Umrao  Mirza  Hairat, 
and  Rai  Jotindranath  Chaudlniri — who  said  very 
pertinently  : 

To  serve  one's  own  countiy  is  a  rig'lit  inalienable 
from  its  people.  So  in  this  view  I  look  upon  all  those 
appointrQents  which  can  be  safely  given  to  the  natives  of 
the  soil  and  which  are  filled  by  foreigners,  as  so  many 
appointments  robbed  from  the  people  to  whom  they 
belong  by  natural  right,  specially  in  India,  where  we 
Indians  are  most  cruelly  debarred  from  all  the  higher 
employments. 

Munshi  Roshan  Lai  pointed  out  the  caste  difficulty, 
which  the  Government  knew  very  well,  and  which, 
with  the  expense  incurred  by  the  journey  and  stay  in 
England,  made  the  nominal  opening  of  the  Service 
to  Indians  of  very  little  value  to  them.  The 
Resolution  was  carried  unanimously. 

Mr.  R.  N.  Mudholkar  moved  the  third  Resolution 
on  the  then  already  well-worn  subject  of  the  separa- 
tion of  judicial  and  executive  functions,  which  has 
since  been  moved  and  carried  22  times  in  vain. 
.Mr.  Mudholkar   gave    his  own    experience    with    men 


150  HOW   INDIA   WROUaHt    FOI^   FREEDOM 

who  were  civil  judges,  criminal  judges,  and  revenue 
officers  rolled  into  one,  whose  courts  travelled  and 
had  to  be  followed  by  the  unlucky  litigants  or  ac- 
cused persons,  and  who,  being  busy  men,  had  no 
time  to  study  intricate  laws,  and  who  were  not  to  be 
blamed  for  their  ignorance — which  caused  them  to 
give  unjust  decisions — nor  for  their  incompatible 
functions — which  led  them  to  give  biassed  decisions. 
He  quoted  the  Judges  of  the  Calcutta  High  Court, 
who  said  : 

It  not  unfrequently  happens  that  the  chief  executive 
Magistrate  practically  becomes  the  prosecutor  and  may 
frequently  become  the  Judge,  though  he  may  have 
formed  a  strong  opinion  on  the  case  behind  the  back  of 
the  accused,  without  liaving  had  the  opportunity  of 
hearing  his  explanation  or  defence. 

It  may  be  remembered  that  a  striking  case  of  this 
was  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter. 

Mr.  Ambikacharan  Mozumdar  seconded  the  Ee- 
solution,  and  described  the  condition  of  things  in 
Bengal,  where  the  Lieut. -Governor  over-rode  the 
Codes,  and  insisted  on  improper  methods,  which  up- 
set the  administration  of  justice.  He  mentioned 
some  striking  cases  of  abuse  of  processes  of  law  by 
executive  officers. 

Mr.  Hun  Chandra  Rai,  supporting,  said,  very 
truly,  that  the  interference  of  District  Officers  with 
the  subordinate  Magistracy,  by  referring  cases  to 
them  with  "almost  plain  directions  as  to  how  they 
are  to  be  decided.  .  .  .  has  brought  about  a  wide- 
spread feeling  of  alarm,  which  it  is  in  the  interests 
of  good   Government  instantly  to  allay  ".     Mr.  K.  G.. 


THE    ETOHTH    CONGRESS  151 

Natu,  Rao  Sahab  Deva  Rao  Vinayak  and  Mr. 
Mui-lidhar  further  supported,  and  the  Resohition  was 
carried  unanimously. 

Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  moved  Resolution  IV  on  the 
Currency  question,  remarking  that  the  Congress 
delegates 

earnestly  desire  at  this  critical  juncture,  when  some 
action  on  the  part  of  Government  is  reported  to  be  im- 
minent, that  it  will  refrain  from  either  taking  a  leap 
in  the  dark,  or  adopting  precipitately  a  measure  which 
might  eventually  prove  to  be  infinitel}^  worse  in  its  con- 
sequences than  the  evils  to  be  witnessed  at  present. 

Mr.  Wacha  dealt  at  length  Avith  the  matter  with 
a  clarity  all  his  own,  explaining  the  effects  of  the 
demonetisation  of  silver  by  Germany  in  1873,  the 
bearing  of  the  "  Home  (foreign)  Charges  "  on  India, 
the  Sherman  Act  of  1890,  the  effect  on  India  of  a 
gold  standard  as  jeopardising  the  interests  of  the 
masses.  Captain  Banon  and  Professor  Bhagiratha 
Prasad  followed,  and  the  unanimous  passing  of  the 
Resolution  brought  the  second  day  to  its  close. 

On  the  third  day,  Mr,  Gr.  S.  Khaparde  brought  in 
the  "  Omnibus  Resolution,"  No.  V,  including,  this 
year.  Salt  Tax,  Income  Tax,  Excise,  claim  to  com- 
mittal to  Quarter  Sessions,  Police,  Arms,  Military 
Colleges,  Militia  and  Volunteering.  He  was  followed 
by  the  Rev.  T.  Evans,  Mr.  Oudh  Behari  Lai,  Munshi 
Sheikh  Husain,  Mr.  B.  S.  Sahasrabuddhe,  and  Munshi 
Abdul  Qudir,  and  the  Resolution  was  then  carried. 

Mr.  Guruprasad  Sen,  in  moving  the  sixth  Resolu- 
tion, demanding  the  withdrawal  of  the  Jury  Notifica- 
tion in  Bengal  and   the  extension  of  the  Jury  system. 


152  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

gave  a  mass  of  facts  and  figures  in  support  of  his 
motion.  Mr.  Baikunthanath  Sen  seconded^  and 
glancing  at  the  history  of  the  Jury  system,  dwelt  on 
the  scandal  of  suddenly  abolishing  a  vested  right, 
enjoyed  for  30  years,  Ly  a  sudden  fiat  of  a  Lieut. - 
Governor. 

Mr.  Lakshminath  Bezbarna,  from  Assam,  said  they 
had  enjoyed  it  for  60  years,  and  needed  it  specially, 
because  of  the  raw  and  inexperienced  Civilians  who 
administered  justice  in  a  lawless  manner.  Six  other 
delegates   spoke,    and    the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  moved  and  Pandit  Madan  Mohan 
Malaviya  seconded  Resolution  VII,  which  pointed  out 
that  England  should  bear  part  of  the  cost  of  the 
military  expenditure  caused  by  Imperial  policy  which 
related,  not  to  the  defence  of  India,  but  to  Britain's 
relations  with  the  great  European  Powers.  It  was 
carried. 

Then  Mr.  Brajendranath  Seal  made  an  eloquent  and 
informing  speech,  moving  Resolution  VIII,  which 
deprecated  the  diminution  of  grants  for  higher 
education,  and  urged  increased  expenditure  on  all 
branches  of  education.  He  brought  abundant  argu- 
ments to  his  thesis,  and  ridiculed  the  idea  that  there 
were  too  many  graduates,  Avho,  finding  no  outlet, 
sowed  discontent.  P]ngland  had  22,000  University 
students  out  of  a  population  of  27  millions,  India 
15,000  out  of  a  population  of  220  millions. 

Mr.  Heramba  Chandra  Maitra  seconded, 
Messrs.  K.  V.  Joslii  and  llari  l^-asad  Chatterji  sup- 
j)orfed,   and  the   Resolution  was  carried  unanimously. 


THE    EIGHTH    CONGRESS  153 

The  sore  poverty  of  India  and  the  remedies  therefor 
were  the  subject  of  Resolution  IX,  reaffirming  Reso- 
kition  III  of  1891  ;  it  was  moved  by  Mr.  Baikuntha- 
nath  Sen,  seconded  by  Mr.  Peter  Paul  Pillai, 
supported  by  four  other  speakers,  and  carried 
unanimously.  Resolution  X  took  up  the  harshness  of 
the  administration  of  the  Forest  Laws,  Mr.  Karandi- 
kar  moving  and  Mr.  P.  Keshava  Pillai  seconding,  the 
latter  recounting  the  grievances  he  has  been  strug- 
gling to  remedy  ever  since.  The  Resolution  passed, 
but  the  grievances  still  remain. 

Then  Mr.  A.  Nandy  moved — Resolution  XI — for  a 
Committee  of  four  delegates,  to  draw  up  a  petition  to 
Parliament  against  the  results  of  the  Public  Service 
Commission,  and  this,  seconded  by  Mr.  Kali 
Prasanna  Kavyavisharada,  was  carried.  One  thing 
mentioned  by  the  mover,  an  Indian  Christian,  may  be 
put  on  record.  Sir  Auckland  Colvin  had  admitted 
that  some  grievances  might  exist  : 

But  what  was  the  advice  Sir  Auckland  Colvin  g'ave 
for  the  redress  of  these  grievances  ?  99  out  of  100 
Englishmen  would  have  said  :  "  Agitate,  and  agitate 
strongly,  till  you  attain  your  object."  Not  so  the  ex- 
Lieut. -Governor.  He  expressed  a  pious  horror  of  agitation, 
and  stigmatised  in  bitter  terms  what  he  called  tlie 
professional  agitator,  but  wound  up  by  advising  his 
hearers,  if  they  had  a  grievance,  to  do  what  ? — to  lay 
them  before  the  District  Magistrate  ! 

If  the   Magistrate   failed,   there   was   the   Commis- 
sioner,    and    lastly     the    Local    Government.       Still 
Government     officials     detest     agitation,    and     some 
,  Indians,  even,  are  afraid  of  it. 


154  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

Mr.  Kanliaya  Lai  and  Mr.  Murlidhar  moved  and 
supported  Resolution  XII,  asking  for  a  Legis- 
lative Council  for  the  Panjab.  Carried.  Then  came 
Resolution  XIII,  thanking  the  British  Committee 
and  Mr.  Digby,  and  Resolution  XIV,  protesting 
against  State-regulated  immorality  in  India.  Resolu- 
tion XV  postponed  the  English  Session  of  the 
Congress  until  after  that  of  1893,  and  Resolution  XVI 
appointed  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji  as  India's  repre- 
sentative in  Parliament,  and  thanked  the  electors  of 
Centra]  Finsbury  for  sending  him  thither.  Reso- 
lutions XVII  and  XVIII  dealt  with  Congress  finance, 
and  XIX  re-elected  Mr.  A.  0.  Hume  and  gave  liim 
Rai  Bahadur  P.  Ananda  Charlu  as  Joint  Secretary. 
Resolutions  XX,  XXI  and  XXII  fixed  tlie  next 
Congress  at  Amritsar,  thanked  the  Maharaja  of 
Dai-bhanga  for  tlie  loan  of  Lowther  Castle,  and  con- 
firmed the  appointment  of  Pandit  Bishambharnath  as 
one  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Permanent  Fund,  With 
a  few  Avords  from  the  President,  and  the  usual  vote 
of  thanks,  the  Eighth  Congress  dissolved. 

FESOLUTIONS 

Representation 

I.  Resolvod— That  this  Congress,  while  accepting  in  a  loyal 
spirit  the  Indian  Councils  Act  recently  enacted  by  the  Parliament 
of  Great  Britain,  as  explained  by  the  present  Prime  Minister,  with 
tlie  assent  (jf  the  then  Under-Secretary  of  State  for  India — that  it 
is  intended  by  it  to  give  the  people  of  India  n  real  living  rcprcfionta- 
tion  in  the  Legislative  Councils — -regrets  that  the  Act  itscdf  does 
not,  in  terms,  concede  to  the  people  the  right  of  electing  their  own 
representatives  to  the  Council,  and  hopes  and  ox])ects  that  the  rules, 
now  being  prepared  under  the  Act,  will  be  framed  on  the  lines  of 
Mr.   (tladstone's   declaration   in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  will  do  . 


THE    EIGHTH    CONGRESS  155 

adequate  justice  to  the  people  of  this  country;  further,  that  it  prays 
that  these  rules  may  be  publislied  in  the  official  Gazettes,  like 
other  proposed  legislative  measures,  before  beino'  finally  adopted. 

Public  Service 

II.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  hereby  places  on  record  its 
deep  regret  at  the  resolution  of  the  Government  of  India  on  the 
report  of  the  Public  Service  Commission,  in  that — 

(a)  Whereas,  if  the  recommendations  of  the  Public  Service 
Commission  had  been  carried  out  in  their  integi-ity,  the  posts 
proposed  to  be  detached  from  the  schedule  of  the  Statute  of  1861 
would  have  formed  part  of  an  organised  Service,  specially  reserved 
for  the  Natives  of  India,  the  resolution  of  Government  leaves  these 
posts  altogether  isolated,  to  which  appointment  can  be  made  only 
under  the  Statute  of  1870; 

(6)  Whereas,  while  108  appointments  were  recommended  by 
the  Public  Service  Commission  for  the  Provincial  Service,  93  such 
appointments  only  have  actually  been  thrown  open  to  that  Service  : 
the  number  to  be  allotted  to  Assam  not  having  yet  been  announced  ; 

(c)  Whereas,  while  a  Membership  of  the  Board  of  Revenue 
and  a  Commissionership  of  a  Division,  were  recommended  for  the 
Pi'ovince  of  Bengal  and  some  other  Provinces,  the  Government  has 
not  given  effect  to  this  resolution ; 

(d)  Whereas,  while  one-third  of  the  Judgeships  were  re- 
commended to  be  thrown  open  to  the  Provincial  Service,  only  one- 
fifth  have  been  so  thrown  open . 

And  this  Congress,  again,  distinctly  puts  on  record  its  ojiinion, 
that  full  justice  will  never  be  done  to  the  people  of  this  country, 
until  the  open  Competitive  Examination  for  the  Civil  Service  of 
India  is  held  simultaneously  in  England  and  in  India. 

XI.  Resolved— That  Mr.  W.  C.  Bannerji,  Mr.  P.  M.  Melita, 
Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji,  and  Rai  Bahadur  Ananda  Chai-lu, 
be  appointed  a  Coinmittee  to  prepare  a  petition  on  the  line 
indicated  by  the  petition  printed  at  foot,  and  that  the  President 
be  authorised  to  sign  it,  on  behalf  of  this  Congress,  and  send  it 
to  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji,  M.P.,  for  presentation  to  the  House 
of  Commons. 

To 

The  Honourable  The  Commons  of  Great  Bi-itain  and  Ii-eland 
in  Parliament  assembled. 

The  huinble  petition  of  the  President  and  Members  of  the 
Eighth  Indian  National  Congress,  held  at  Allahabad,  on  the  28th, 
29th  and  30th  of  December,  1892 

Respectfully  Showeth, 


156  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

(1)  That  in  conformity  with  a  resolution  adopted  at  the  Eighth 
Indian  National  Congress,  your  humble  petitioners  beg  to  bring  to 
the  attention  of  your  Honourable  House,  the  deep  disappointment 
which  prevails  in  all  parts  of  Her  Majesty's  Indian  Enipii-e  at  the 
orders  passed  upon  the  labours  of  the  Public  Service  Commission. 

(2)  That  the  Commission  was  instructed  by  the  Government  of 
India  to  submit  a  scheme  which  might  reasonably  be  expected  to 
possess  the  elements  of  finality  and  to  do  full  justice  to  the  claims 
of  the  Natives  of  India  to  higher  and  more  extensive  employment  in 
the  Public  Service.  Neither  object  has  been  secured  by  the  labours 
of  the  Public  Service  Commission  The  Statutory  Service,  under 
which  appointments  had  been  made,  has  been  abolished,  and 
nothing  has  been  done  to  secure  to  the  people  the  full  enjoyment  of 
the  boon  conferred  u^jon  them  by  the  Act  of  1870.  The  Government 
of  India,  in  their  resolution  appointing  the  Commission,  observed  : 
"  That  the  Statute  of  1870  is  one  of  remarkable  breadth  and 
liberality,  and  it  empowers  the  Government  of  India  and  the 
Secretary  of  State,  acting  together,  to  frame  rules  under  which 
Natives  of  India  may  be  adinitted  to  any  of  the  offices  hitherto 
resei'ved  for  the  Covenanted  Civil  Service."  But  the  result  of  the 
Commission's  enquii-y  has  been  a  reduction  in  the  number  of  offices 
open  to  Indians. 

(3)  That  in  respect,  likewise,  to  simultaneous  examinations  in 
England  and  in  India  for  appointment  in  the  Civil  Service,  the 
Report  of  the  Commission,  endorsed  by  the  Government  of  India, 
has  given  no  satisfaction  whatever.  The  weight  of  the  evidence 
taken  by  the  Commissioners  was  distinctly  in  favour  of  simultaneous 
examinations.  Among  the  witnesses  examined,  there  was  a  very 
large  preponderance  of  those  who  were  in  favour  of  simultaneous 
examinations. 

(4)  That  the  disappointment  which  is  eveiywhere  felt  at 
the  I'esolution  of  the  Government  of  India  on  the  Public  Service 
Commission,  is  of  such  a  character  that  this  Congress  has  felt 
constrained  to  lay  the  matter  before  the  Honourable  House,  and  to 
]u-ay  that  it  will  direct  the  Government  of  India  to  give  full  effect 
to  the  Act  of  1870,  in  the  matter  of  appointing  Natives  of  India  to 
the  Public  Service  of  their  country. 

Legal 

111.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  seeing  the  serious 
mischief  arising  to  the  country  from  the  combination  of  Judicial 
and  Executives  functions  in  tlie  same  official,  once  again  puts  on 
record  its  deliberate  and  earnest  conviction  that  a  complete 
separation  of  these  functions  has  become  an  urgent  necessity,  and 
that,  in  its  opinion,  it  behoves  the  Government  to  effect  this 
separation  without  farther  delay,  even  though  this  should,  in  some 
Proxinces,  involve  extra  ex])enditiir('. 


THE    EIGHTH    CONGRESS  157 

VI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  views  with  the  deepest 
concern  and  alarm  the  recent  policy  of  Government  with  respect  to 
trial  by  Jury,  and  particularly  the  action  of  the  Governments  of 
Bengal  and  Assam  in  withdrawing  the  right  of  trial  by  Jury  in  the 
majority  of  serious  offences,  and  most  respectfully,  but  firmly, 
protests  against  such  policy  and  action  as  retrograde,  reactionary, 
and  injurious  to  tlie  best  interests  of  the  country,  and  prays  that 
the  same  may  be  reversed  by  the  Government  of  India,  and  failing 
that,  by  the  Government  in  England  ;  and  that,  as  praj'ed  for  in 
resolutions  of  previous  Congresses,  the  right  of  trial  by  Jury  be 
extended  to  those  parts  of  the  country  where  it  is  not  now  in  force, 
it  being  the  only  safeguard  for  the  people  in  the  i^resent 
unsatisfactory  condition  of  the  administration  of  Criminal  Justice 
in  British  India. 

Currency 

IV.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  diversity  of 
opinion  that  prevails  on  the  Currency  Question,  and  the  imjDortance 
of  the  question  itself,  this  Congress  desires  to  exjDress  its  earnest 
hope,  that  unless  its  hands  are  forced  by  the  action  of  any  Foreign 
Power,  necessitating  a  change  in  the  currency,  or  the  standard, 
which  might  prove  injurious  to  the  interests  of  the  country,  the 
Government  of  India  will  refrain  from  taking  any  stejas,  until  the 
labours  of  the  Brussels  Conference  have  been  completed  :  and,  further, 
that  the  Government  will  lay  before  the  Public,  for  discussion,  the 
proposals  which  Lord  HerschelFs  Committee  may  recommend, 
before  definite  action,  if  any,  is  resolved  upon. 

Confirmation  of  Previous  Resolutions 

V.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  concurs  with  its  predeces- 
sors in  strongly  advocating — 

Taivafion 

(a)  The  rediiction  of  the  salt  duty  by  at  least  the  amount  of  its 
latest  enhancement ; 

(b)  The  raising  of  the  Income-tax  taxable  minimum  from  five 
hundred  to  one  thousand  ; 

Excise 

(c)  Persistent  pressure  by  the  Government  of  India  on  all 
Provincial  Administrations,  to  induce  them  to  carry  out,  in  its 
integrity,  the  Excise  policy  enunciated  in  paragraphs  103,  104,  105 
of  the  Despatch,  published  in  The  Gazette  of  India  of  March,  1890, 
and  the  introduction  of  a  simple  system  of  local  option  in  the 
case  of  all  villages  ; 

14 


158  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Legal 

(d)  The  introduction  into  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure  of  a 
provision  enablins:  accused  persons  in  warrant  cases,  to  demand 
that  instead  of  being  tried  by  the  Magistrate  they  may  be 
committed  to  the  Court  of  Sessions; 

Police 

(e)  The  fundamental  reform  of  the  Police  administration,  by 
a  reduction  in  the  numbers  and  an  increase  in  the  salaries  and  in 
the  qualifications  of  the  lower  grades,  and  their  far  more  careful 
enlistment ;  and  by  the  selection  for  the  higher  posts  of  gentlemen 
of  higher  capacities,  more  in  touch  with  the  respectable  portions  of 
the  community,  and  less  addicted  to  military  pretensions,  than  the 
majority  of  existing  Deputy  Inspectors-General,  Superintendents, 
and  Assistant  Superintendents  of  Police  are ; 

Military 

(/)  A  modification  of  the  rules  under  the  Arms  Act,  so  as  to 
make  them  equally  applicable  to  all  residents  in,  or  visitors  to 
India,  without  distinction  of  creed,  caste  or  colour  ;  to  ensure  the 
liberal  concession  of  licences  wherever  wild  animals  habitually 
destroy  human  life,  cattle  or  crops ;  and  to  make  all  licences, 
granted  under  the  revised  rules,  of  life-long  tenure,  revocable  only 
on  proof  of  misuse,  and  valid  throughout  the  Provincial  jurisdiction 
in  which  they  are  issued  ; 

(jr)  The  establishment  of  Military  Colleges  in  India,  whereat 
natives  of  India,  defined  by  statute,  may  be  educated  and  trained 
for  a  military  career  as  Commissioned  or  Non-commissioned 
Officers  (according  to  capacity  and  qualifications)  of  the  Indian 
Army ; 

(Ji)  The  organising  throughout  the  more  warlike  races  of  the 
Empire  of  a  system  of  Militia  service  ;  and 

(j)  The  authorising  and  stimulating  of  a  wide-spread  system 
of  Volunteering,  such  as  obtains  in  Great  Britain,  amongst  the 
people  of  India. 

Military 

VTI.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  fact  that  the 
abnormal  increase  in  the  annual  Military  Expenditure  of  the  Empire 
since  1885-86  is  jirincipally  owing  to  the  Military  activity  going  on 
beyond  the  natural  lines  of  tlie  defences  of  the  country,  in  pursu- 
ance of  the  Imperial  policy  of  Great  Britain  in  its  relation  with 
some  of  the  Great  Powers  of  Europe,  this  Congress  is  of  opinion 
that,  in  bare  justice  to  India,  an  equitable  portion  of  that  expendi- 
ture should  be  borne  by  the  British  Treasury,  and  that  the  revenues 
of  India  should  he  ])ro|)<)i-tioiiately    relieved  of  that  burden. 


THE    EIGHTH    CONGRESS  159 

Education 

VIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  emphatically  of  opinion, 
that  it  is  highly  inexpedient  in  the  present  state  of  Education  in  the 
country,  that  Government  grants  for  High  Education  should  in  any 
way  be  withdrawn,  and,  concui'ring  with  previous  Congresses, 
affirms  in  the  most  emphatic  manner,  the  importance  of  increasing 
the  public  expenditure  on  all  branches  of  Education,  and  the 
expediency,  in  view  to  the  promotion  of  one  of  the  most  essential 
of  these  branches,  i.  e.,  the  technical,  of  appointing  a  mixed  Com- 
mission to  enquire  into  the  present  industrial  condition  of  the 
country. 

Poverty  and  Permanent  Settlement 

IX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  emphatically  re-affirms 
Resolution  III  of  the  Congress  of  1891,  and  having  regard  to  the 
fact  that  fully  fifty  millions  of  the  population,  a  number  yearly 
increasing,  are  dragging  out  a  miserable  existence  on  the  verge  of 
starvation,  and  that  in  every  decade  several  millions  actually 
perish  by  starvation,  deems  it  imperatively  necessary  that  the  cost 
of  administration,  especially  in  the  military  branch  of  the  Public 
Service,  should  be  greatly  reduced,  and  that  measures  should  at 
once  be  taken  to  give,  as  was  promised  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment over  thirty  years  ago,  fixity  and  permanence  to  the  land 
revenue  demand,  and  thus  permit  capital  and  labour  to  combine 
to  develop  the  agriculture  of  the  country,  which,  under  the  existing 
system  of  temporary  settlements,  in  recent  times  often  lasting  for 
short  periods,  in  some  cases  only  extending  to  ten  and  twelve  years, 
is  found  to  be  impossible  ;  and  to  establish  Agricultural  Banks.  And 
this  Congress,  again,  most  earnestly  entreats  the  people  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  not  to  permit  any  further  sacrifice  of  life  owing 
to  the  shortcomings  of  the  existing,  doubtless  well-intentioned,  but 
none  the  less  unsatisfactory,  administration,  but  to  insist,  and,  that 
speedily,  on  the  reforms,  then  and  now,  so  earnestly  advocated. 

Forest  Laws 

X.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  entirely  adopts  Resolution 
XI  of  the  Congress  of  1891,  and  reiterates  its  prayer,  that  having 
regard  to  the  very  serious  discontent  created,  particularly  in 
Peninsular  India,  by  the  practical  administration  of  the  Forest 
Laws,  the  Government  of  India  do  investigate  this  matter  carefully, 
and  endeavour  to  mitigate  the  harshness  of  such  administration, 
and  render  it  less  obnoxious  to  the  poorer  classes. 

Legislative  Council  (Panjab) 

XII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  in  concurrence  with  the 
first  Congress   held  at  Bombay  in  1885,   considers  that  the  creation 


160  HOW    INDIA   WEOUGHT    FOR    PEEEDOM 

of  a  Legislative  Council  for  the  Province  of  the  Panjab  is  an 
absolute  necessity  for  the  good  government  of  that  Province,  and, 
having  regard  to  the  fact  that  a  similar  Council  has  been  created 
for  the  United  Provinces,  hopes  that  no  time  will  be  lost  in  creating 
such  a  Council. 

Thanks  of  Congress 

XIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  hereby  tenders  its  most 
grateful  acknowledgments  to  Sir  W.  Wedderburn  and  the  members 
of  the  British  Congress  Committee,  for  the  services  rendered  by 
them  to  India  during  the  past  year,  and  entirely  approves  and 
confirms  the  re-construction  of  the  British  Committee  of  the 
Congress  which  has  been  eifected  by  them,  as  also  the  new  arrange- 
ments which  they  have  made  in  regard  to  their  office  establishment, 
land  the  journal  India ;  and  that  this  Congress  also  tenders  its 
thanks  to  Mr.  W.  Digby,  C.I.E.,  for  the  services  which  he  rendered 
to  the  cause  during  his  tenure  of  office  as  Secretary  to  the  British 
Committee. 

XVI.  Eesolved — That  this  Congress  most  respectfully  and 
cordially  tenders,  on  behalf  of  the  vast  population  it  represents, 
India's  most  heartfelt  thanks  to  the  electors  of  Central  Finsbury 
for  electing  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji  their  member  in  the  House  of 
Commons  ;  and  it  again  puts  on  record  its  high  estimate  and  deep 
appreciation  of  the  services  which  that  gentleman  has  rendered  to 
this  country,  reiterates  its  unshaken  confidence  in  him,  and  looks 
upon  him  as  India's  representative  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

XXI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  hereby  tenders  its  beet 
thanks  to  His  Highness  the  Maliaraja  of  Darbhanga,  for  having  so 
kindly  lent  his  Castle  and  grounds  for  the  holding  of  this  Congress. 

Prostitution 

XIV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  thankful  that  the 
House  of  Commons  is  vigilant  in  regard  to  the  recent  purity 
legislation  by  the  Government  in  India,  and  desires,  once  again,  to 
enter  its  protest  against  all  State-regulated  immorality  in  India. 

Congress  Work 

XV.  Resolved — That,  regard  being  had  to  the  present  political 
situation  in  England,  the  provisional  arrangements  set  on  foot,  in 
pursuance  of  the  resolution  passed  at  the  Calcutta  Congress,  1890, 
for  holding — all  things  being  convenient — a  Congress  of  not  less 
than  one  hundred  delegates  in  England  in  1892,  be  now  suspended, 
until  after  the  session  of  the  Congress  in  1893. 

XVII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  hereby  empowers  the 
Trustees  of  the  Congress  Permanent  Fund — now  locked  up  in  the 
"  New  Oriental  Bank  Corporation,  Ld., "  at  present  in  liquidation — 


THE    EIGHTH    CONGRESS  161 

to  send,  at  least,  five  hnndred  pounds  out  of  it  to  the  British  Com- 
mittee, to  be  recouped  by  subscriptions  fi-om  the  Standing  Congress 
Committees. 

XVIII.  Eesolved — That,  regard  being  had  to  the  representa- 
tions received  from  the  British  Committee,  this  Congress  is  of 
opinion,  that  a  sum  equivalent  in  Rupees  to  two  thousand  eight 
hundred  pounds  sterling,  be  allotted  for  the  expenses  of  the  British 
Committee,  for  the  year  1892-93  ;  that  deducting  the  money  which 
has  been  received  up  to  now,  the  balance  be  allotted  amongst  the 
diiferent  Standing  Congress  Committees,  in  accordance  with 
arrangements  come  to  with  them  ;  and  that  the  sum  be  remitted  to 
England  as  soon  as  practicable. 

Formal 

XIX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  re-appoints  Mr.  A.  O. 
Hume,  C.  B.,  to  be  its  General  Secretary,  and  appoints  Rai  Bahadur 
P.  Ananda  Charlu,  to  be  its  Joint-General  Secretary  for  the 
ensuing  year. 

XXII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  confirms  the  apjDoint- 
ment  of  Pandit  Bishunibharnath,  in  place  of  the  late  Pandit 
Ajodhyanath,  as  one  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Congress  Permanent 
Fund. 

XX.  Resolved — That  the  Ninth  Indian  National  Congress  do 
assemble  on  such  day  after  Christmas,  1893,  as  may  be  determined 
upon,  at  Amritsar. 


CHAPTER  IX 

The  Ninth  National  Congress  met  at  Lahore — not  at 
Amritsar  as  chosen  by  the  preceding  Congress — on 
December  27,  28,  29  and  30,  1893.  The  pavilion 
was  raised  on  a  piece  of  vacant  ground,  and  contained 
4,000  seats,  which  were  not  able  to  accommodate  all 
who  crowded  to  attend.  The  delegates  numbered 
867,  and,  as  sent  by  Provinces,  were  as  follows  : 


Bengal  ... 

KW.P.  and  Oudh       

Panjab 

Bombay  (77)  and  Sindh  (47) 

C.P.  and  Berar 

Madras 


59 
133 

481 

124 

39 

31 

867 


The  first  sitting  began  on  December  27  at  2  p.m. 
as  usual.  The  Chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee, 
Sardar  Dayal  Singh  Majithia,  was  suffering  from  a 
violent  attack  of  rheumatism,  and  handed  his  address 
to  Mr.  Harkishan  Lai  to  read.  After  characterising 
the  Congress  as  "  the  greatest  glory  of  the  British 
Rule  in  this  country,"  he  paid  a  tribute  of  thanks 
to   Sir  Dennis    Fit/patrick   and    the  officials  who  had 


THE    NINTH    CONQEESS  163 

put  no  hindrance  in  the  way  of  their  preparations, 
and  said  that  the  martial  races  of  the  Panjab  were  in 
full  sympathy  with  the  Congress  movement. 

The  wand  of  the  magician  has  touched  our  eyes. 
The  history  and  literature  of  England  have  permeated 
our  minds,  the  great  heritage  of  our  western  Aryan 
brethren  has  descended  on  us,  collaterally,  as  it  were,  and 
we  are  allowed  at  times,  grudgingly  it  may  be,  to  have  a 
share  in  it.  We  happily  live  under  a  Constitution  whose 
watchword  is  freedom,  and  whose  main  pillar  is  toleration. 
We  look  back  complacently  on  our  past  history,  and 
glory  in  it.  Can  we  then  in  the  midst  of  this  N^ational 
upheaval  remain  quiescent  and  indifferent '? 

Rai  Bahadur  Ananda  Charlu  moved,  and  Moulvi 
Muhurram  Ali  Chiste  seconded,  the  proposal  that 
Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji,  M.P.,  should  be  the  President 
of  the  Congress,  and  the  whole  pavilion  was  shaken 
with  the  welcome  the  delegates  offered  to  the  first 
Indian  elected  to  the  House  of  Commons. 

After  expressing  his  thanks  to  the  Congress,  the 
President  referred  feelingly  to  the  passing  away  of 
their  staunch  supporter  Justice  Kashinath  Trimbak 
Telang,  ''  one  of  the  most  active  founders  of  the 
Congress,"  and  "  its  first  hard-working  Secretary  in 
Bombay  ".  Even  after  he  had  become  a  Judge,  he 
always  helped  with  advice.  He  then  read  a  message 
to  the  Congress  from  his  English  constituents, 
expressing  their  gratification  with  his  work  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  spoke  of  the  small  approach 
to  representation  granted  in  the  Councils  and  the 
concession  of  the  right  of  interpellation.  He  pointed 
out   that   it  would  be  "  the  height  of  unwisdom  "  for 


164  HOW    INDIA    WROUaHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

the     Ruling    Authorities     to    alienate    the    educated 

Indians,  and  to 

drive  this  force  into  opposition  instead  of  drawing  it 
to  their  own  side  bj  taking  it  into  contidence  and  thereby 
strengthening  their  own  foundation.  This  Congress  re- 
presents the  aristocracy  of  intellect  and  the  new  political 
life  created  by  themselves,  which  is  at  present  deeply 
grateful  to  its  creator.  Common  sense  tells  you — have  it 
with  you  instead  of  against  you. 

Mr.  Naoroji  spoke  of  the  formation  of  an  Indian 
Parliamentary  Committee  in  the  House  of  Commons 
— a  liody  sorely  needed  now — and  expressed  his  be- 
lief "  that  our  faith  in  the  instinctive  love  of  justice 
and  fair  play  of  the  people  of  the  United  Kingdom  is 
not  misplaced,"  even  though  he  added  that  "  we  are 
to  all  intents  and  purposes  under  an  arbitrary  rule". 
The  poverty  of  India  was  "  the  rock  ahead/'  and  it 
was  due  to  the  system  of  Government,  not  to  the 
officials,  though  they,  unfortunately,  took  criticisms 
of  the  system  as  personal  attacks.  As  the  Duke  of 
Devonshire  said,  the  Anglo-Indian  official  "  is  not  a 
person  who  is  distinguished  by  an  exceptionally 
calm  judgment  ".  Lord  Cromer's  average  income  of 
the  Indian  as  Rs.  27  per  head  included  the  rich  and 
the  incomes  of  European  planters,  manufacturers  and 
mine-owners,  and  the  poor  had  a  much  lower  average; 
he  put  it  at  Rs.  20.  This  poverty  was  the  greatest 
danger.  If  India  were  allowed  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of 
the  people's  labours,  then 

Britain  may  defy  iialf  a  dozen  Russias.  Indians  will 
then  fight  to  the  last  man  and  the  last  rupee  for  their 
share,  as  patriots,  not  as  mercenaries.  The  rulers  will 
only  have  to  stamp  their  foot,  and  millions  will  spring   up 


THE    NINTH    CONGRESS  165 

to  defend  the  British  Power  and  their  own  hearths  and 
homes.  .  .  .  Were  we  enemies  of  British  rule,  our  best 
course  would  be  not  to  cry  out,  but  remain  silent,  and  let 
the  mischief  take  its  course  till  it  ends  in  disaster  as  it 
must.  But  we  do  not  want  that  disaster,  and  we  there- 
fore cry  out,  both  for  our  own  sake  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
rulers.  This  evil  of  poverty  must  be  boldly  faced  and 
remedied. 

It  has  not  been  faced ;  it  has  not  been  remedied. 
And  the  words  spoken  are  as  true  in  1915  as  in  1893. 
Mr.  Naoroji  concluded  : 

The  day,  I  hope,  is  not  distant  when  the  world  will 
see  the  noblest  spectacle  of  a  great  Nation  like  the  British 
holding  out  the  hand  of  true  fellow-citizenship  and  of 
justice  to  the  vast  mass  of  humanity  of  this  great  and 
ancient  land  of  India,  with  benefits  and  blessings  to  the 
human  race. 

He  said  in  the  course  of  his  speech  :  "  I  shall  hope 
as  long  as  I  live."  He  is  now  in  his  91st  year.  May 
his  hope  be  realised  ere  he  passe.^^  away. 

The  names  of  the  Subjects  Committee  were  read  out 
and  approved,  and  the  Congress  adjourned. 

On  the  second  day,  Mr.  R.  N.  Mudholkar  moved 
the  first  Resolution,  dealing  with  the  unsatisfactory 
results  of  the  Councils  Act  of  1892.  He  pointed  out 
that  some  success  had  indeed  been  gained,  but  less 
than  they  wished.  Since  1887  reform  had  been  asked 
for  by  the  Government  of  India,  and  in  three  sessions 
Bills  were  brought  into  Parliament ;  in  1892  an  Act 
was  passed,  as  the  Conservative  Government  feared 
that  its  successor  would  bring  in  a  more  liberal 
measure.  That  Act  did  not  give  the  right  of  election, 
but  allowed  the  Viceroy  to  make  rules,  to  be  approved 


166  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

by  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  in  these  there  was 
'^  a  sort  of  a  right  of  election";  also  the  right  of 
interpellation  was  granted,  but  no  discussion  of  the 
answers ;  and  the  submission  of  the  Budget  to  the 
Council,  without  any  right  to  vote  thereon.  Mr.  G. 
K.  Gokhale,  in  seconding,  said  : 

Gentlemen,  in  regard  to  these  Rules  [framed  for  the 
Presidency  of  Bombay  to  give  effect  to  the  Act],  I  will  not 
say  that  they  have  been  deliberately  so  framed  as  to  defeat 
the  object  of  the  Act  of  1892,  but  I  will  say  this,  that  if 
the  officer  who  drafted  them  had  been  asked  to  sit  down 
with  the  deliberate  purpose  of  framing  a  scheme  to  defeat 
that  object,  he  could  not  have  done  better. 

After  this  opening,  Mr.  Gokhale  proceeded  to  prove 
his  case,  showing  how  the  Government  of  Bombay — 
the  section  assigned  to  him — having  6  seats  to  dispose 
of,  gave  one  each  to  the  European  Chambers  of 
Bombay  and  Karachi  and  none  to  the  Indian 
Mercantile  Community,  one  each  to  the  Sardars  of 
the  Deccan  and  the  Zemindars  of  Sindh,  land-holders 
much  under  the  thumb  of  the  Government — Sindh 
having  thus  two  members — but  the  Central  Division 
of  the  Presidency,  containing  Poona  and  Satara,  had 
none.  Four  seats  out  of  the  six  were  thus  secured  for 
the  Government. 

Pandit  Bishen  Narayan  Dbar  dealt  with  the 
Rules  for  the  N.W.P.,  and  Mr.  Baikunthanath  Sen 
with  those  for  Bengal.  Mr.  T.  Kemchand  said 
that  Sindh's  two  members  were  unjustly  allotted. 
The  Central  Provinces  were  particularly  unfortunate, 
said    Mr.    Keshava     Vinayak    Joshi.      Rai    Bahadur 


THE    NINTH    CONGRESS  167 

C.  Janibulingam    Mudaliar   explained    the  grievances 
of  Madras.     The  Resolution  was  carried. 

Then  Resolution  II,  asking  for  a  Legislative  Council 
for  the  Panjab,  was  passed,  and  the  "  Omnibus 
Resolution  "  followed  as  No.  IV.  Dr.  Bhadurji  next 
moved  resolution  V,  which  asked  for  the  recon- 
struction of  the  Indian  Civil  Medical  Service  quite 
apart  from  the  Military.  He  gave  a  very  full  and 
detailed  account  of  the  grievances  of  Indian  doctors, 
as  regarded  their  colleges,  their  pay,  and  their 
prospects,  being  allowed  much  more  than  his  time 
because  the  subject  was  a  new  one.  Dr.  M.  M.  Bose, 
Dr.  Bhalchandra  Krishna  and  Dr.  Bhugatram  Sawhuy 
followed,  and  the  motion  was  carried,  the  Congress 
thereupon  adjourning. 

The  third  day  of  the  Congress  opened  on  a  joyous 
note ;  after  the  usual  birthday  telegram  to  Mr. 
Gladstone,  Resolution  V  was  moved  by  the  Hon. 
Mr.  Surendranath  Banner ji,  thanking  the  House  of 
Commons  for  carrying  a  Resolution  in  favour  of  simul- 
taneous examinations.  He  gave  a  long  list  of 
broken  pledges  for  which  he  arraigned  "  the 
Government  of  India  before  the  Bar  of  British  and 
Indian  public  opinion — before  the  Bar  of  civilised 
htimanity  in  all  parts  of  the  globe  ;  for  the  history 
of  the  Civil  Service  question  is  one  unbroken  record 
of  broken  promises  ".  It  shows,  however,  the 
strength  of  the  Indian  Civil  Service,  that  despite  all 
the  broken  promises  and  the  Resolution  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  examinations  for  the  I.C.S.  are  still 
held    in    England     only.       Mr.     Hamid    Ali     Khan 


168  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

seconded  the  resolution  on  behalf  of  his  co-religionists, 
and  was  followed  by  Raja  Rampal  Singh  in  a  breezy 
speech  ;  he  pointed  out  that  after  35  years  there  were 
20  Indians  in  the  I.C.S.  and  between  900  and  1,000 
Europeans ;  he  had  been  asked  by  an  Englishman 
which  Grovernment  he  thought  the  better,  English  or 
Muhammadan  ;  he  had  answered  that  the  English 
was  the  better  for  security,  education  and  railways, 
but  for  the  wealth  of  India  the  Muhammadan,  for  the 
Muhammadans  became  Indians,  and  the  riches  stayed 
in  the  country,  while  the  English  carried  the  wealth 
of  the  country  away.  He  remarked  that  English 
Civilians  made  India  their  happy  hunttng  ground  ; 
they  came  and  "  return  to  England  with  our  money  ". 
Munshi  Roshan  Lai  rnet  the  objection  that  simulta- 
neous examinations  would  make  the  I.C.S.  "  the 
monopoly  of  the  Bengali  Babu  ".  If  so,  where  was 
the  objection,  in  view  of  Her  Majesty's  Proclamation  ? 
Let  the  Bengalis  fill  it  if  they  could  ;  they  would 
have  only  the  same  chance  as  men  of  other  Provinces, 
whom  he  believed  to  be  their  equals.  Mr.  C.  Venkata 
Raman  Naidu  further  supported,  and  the  resolution 
was  carried. 

Mr.  Kalicharan  Bannerji  proposed  Resolution  VI, 
which  asked  that  the  Secretary  of  State  should  order 
schemes  for  the  separation  of  judicial  and  executive 
functions  to  be  prepared  by  Committees  appointed 
for  this  purpose.  He  showed  the  need  by  a  shocking 
case  that  had  just  occurred,  in  which  four  men  were 
sentenced  to  death  and  three  to  transportation  for  life, 
after  a  trial  in   which  rules  of  law  were  disregarded 


THE    NINTH    CONGRESS  169 

and  the  magistrate  acted  as  a  prosecutor  and  judge 
combined.  The  Hon.  Mr.  N.  Subbarao  Pantulu 
seconded,  and  mentioned  a  case  iii  the  Madras  Presi- 
dency which  showed  that  under  present  conditions, 
justice  was  not  done.  Mr.  Ambikacharan  Mozumdar 
showed  that  by  the  efforts  of  that  great  agitator 
Raja  Ram  Mohan  Rai  the  functions  had  been  separ- 
ated, but  that  they  were  re-united  in  1858.  He 
proceeded  to  make  a  magnificent  speech,  exhausting 
the  subject,  which  should  be  carefully  studied,  for  in 
1915  the  scandal  still  continues. 

Resolution  YII,  a  protest  against  ''  State-re- 
gulated Immorality  in  India,"  was  moyed  by  Mr. 
D.  E.  Wacha,  seconded  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  C.  C.  Mitra 
and  carried. 

Then  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  moved  Re- 
solution VIII,  on  the  perennial  starvation  of  the 
peasantry,  and  begged  members  of  the  House  of 
(Commons,  if  they  would  not  accept  the  statistics 
which  proved  that  the  poverty  of  the  country  was 
increasing,  to  come  over  to  India,  visit  the  villages, 
and  see  in  what  misery  the  people  live.  Let  them  ask 
the  people  what  the  country  was  before  the  Mutin}' : 

Where  are  the  weavers,  where  are  those  men  who 
lived  by  different  industries  and  maimfactures,  and  where 
are  the  manufactures  which  were  sent  to  England  and 
other  European  countries  in  very  large  quantities  year 
after  year  P  All  that  has  become  a  thing  of  the  pfist : 
every  one  sitting  here  is  clothed  in  cloth  of  British  make — 
almost  every  one — and  wherever  you  go,  you  find  British 
manufactures  and  British  goods  staring  you  in  the  face. 
All  that  is  left  to  the  people  is  to  drag  out  a  miserable 
15 


170  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

existence  by  agricultural  operations,  and  make  intinitesi- 
mal  profit  out  of  the  little  trade  left  to  them.  In  the 
matter  of  the  Services,  in  the  matter  of  trade,  our  people 
are  not  enjoying  one-hundredth  part  of  the  profit  and 
gain  which  they  used  to  enjoy  fifty  years  ago.  How  then 
is  it  possible  for  the  country  to  be  happy  ? 

He  then  gave  a  number  of  figures  and  quotations 
to  prove  his  contention.  Pandit  Gopinath  seconded, 
and  Mr.  Anibikacharan  Maitra,  Mr,  Muhammad  AH 
Bhimji  and  Moulvi  Mohurram  Ali  Chiste  supported 
the  motion,  and  it  was  unanimously  carried. 

Once  more  the  harshness  of  the  administration  of 
the  Forest  Laws  was  brought  up — Resolution  IX — - 
and  instances  of  injustice  were  given;  Pandit  Meghan 
Ram  showed  how  the  Rules  framed  by  the  Panjab 
Government  were  specially  cruel  and  unjust,  "  very 
arbitrary  and  unworthy  of  a  civilised  Government  ". 
An  owner  or  occupant  of  land  was  made  liable  for  an 
accidental  fire  caused  by  any  one  on  his  land,  and 
might  be  "  treated,"  said  the  Rule,  "  as  if  he  had  been 
guilty  of  the  infraction  of  the  Rules  ".  The  hill-men, 
again,  used  grass  and  wood  :  "  it  is  their  life  and 
the  life  of  their  cattle  "  ;  they  were  prevented  from 
taking  them.  In  their  severe  climate,  they  had  kept 
fires  going  night  and  day ;  now  they  could  not  even 
cut  down  their  own  trees  for  warmth.  The  Resolution 
was  carried,  but  the  Forest  Laws  remain. 

On  the  fourth  day,  Mr.  Peter  l*aul  Pillai  opened  the 
proceedings  by  moving  Resolution  X,  asking  the 
Government  to  fulfil  their  tliirty  years'  old  promise 
to  grant  Permanent  Settlement,  and  drew  attention  to 
the  alarm  caused  l)y  its  intci-Fei-encc  with  that  in  l>engnl 


THE    NINTH    CONGRESS  171 

and  Bihar,  declaring  that  "  such  tampering  with 
solemn  public  pledges  "  was  "  a  National  calamity  ". 
He  complained  bitterly  of  the  breach  of  the  terms  of 
sanads  granted  by  Grovernment,  and  commented  in 
terms  none  too  severe  on  the  dishonour  of  such 
breaking  of  faith  with  the  public.  Mr.  Baikunthanath 
Sen  seconded,  and  then  Sheikh  Wahab-ud-din  spoke 
strongly  as  to  the  Panjab.  Their  Province  had  been 
annexed  by  the  British  Empire  48  years  before,  and 
they  were  fiscally  and  physically  stronger  then.  The 
people  had  become  poorer  and  poorer,  and  peasant 
and  gentleman  had  scarcely  any  margin  to  support 
their  families  or  provide  for  the  future.  Mr.  B.  G 
Tilak  pointed  out  that  in  Bombay  the  increase  in 
30  years  had  sometimes  amounted  to  30  per  cent. 
Sardar  Gurucharan  Singh  showed  how  in  the  Panjab 
the  failure  of  a  crop  meant  ruin  to  the  cultivator  : 

The  family  is  broken  up,  their  cattle  ai^e  sold  for 
debts,  the  breadwinner  of  the  family  either  dies  of  a 
broken  heart,  or  lingers  in  the  dark  recesses  of  a  Civil 
Gaol  under  the  decree  of  the  money-lender.  If  he  has 
any  son,  the  poor  youth  leaves  home  in  despair  and  joins 
the  army,  where  he  ends  his  days  at  a  handsome  salary 
of  Rs.  7  a  month. 

These  are  the  conditions  which  have  afforded 
materials  for  revolutionary  plots ;  people  who  are 
starving  and  in  despair  lend  a  ready  ear  to  sug- 
gestions of  revolt.  Mr.  K.  V.  Joshi  brought  evidence 
from  the  Central  Provinces,  where  the  enhancement 
had  been  in  some  cases  from  200  to  300  per  cent,  and 
where  he  had  found  the  people  so  poor  that  they  wei-e 
living  on  raowra    flowers   and  the  seeds  of  tamarinds. 


172  HOW    INDIA   WEOUGHT    FOR    FEEEDOM 

Resolution  XI,  moved  by  Mr,  IJ.  A.  Khare,  regret- 
ted that  Government  had  not  carried  out  its  pledges 
of  1862,  1865,  1882,  and  1884.  In  addition  to  these, 
he  quoted  Lord  Reay's  solemn  promise  that  improve- 
ments made  by  the  holder  should  not  be  taxed,  and  the 
breaking  of  the  promise  in  the  then  recent  settlement 
in  the  Penwall  Taluq.  In  another  ease  a  petition  was 
presented,  and  a  year  passed  and  the  Commissioner 
gave  no  answer.  The  petitioners  applied  to  the 
Government  of  Bombay ;  the  petition  was  returned 
because  a  copy  of  the  order  was  not  attached.  The 
local  officer  had  written  no  order.  The  petition 
di'opped,  Mr,  G.  S,  Khaparde  seconded,  Mir  Nisar 
Ali    Shohrat    supported,    and  the  motion  was  carried. 

Resolution  XII  was  a  long  and  important  one  on 
Education,  urging  increased  expenditure,  an  enquiry 
into  the  industrial  condition  of  the  country  with  a 
view  to  technical  education,  the  reduction  of  fees  to 
meet  the  means  of  parents  and  their  remission  to 
the  very  poor,  and  pointing  out  that  equal  care 
should  be  directed  to  physical  as  to  mental  develop- 
ment. Mr,  M,  B.  Namjoshi  moved  it,  and  asked  for 
free  and  compulsory  education,  citing  the  example 
of  the  Gaekwar,  Mr.  Nibaran  Chandra  Das  seconded, 
Bakshi  Ram  Labkaye  supported,  and  then  Lala 
Lajpat  Rai  took  up  the  (juestion  in  a  vigorous  speech. 
He  specially  urged  technical  education,  as  that  would 
increase  the  wealth  of  the  country. 

It  is  30  or  85  years  that  the  Department  of  Publir- 
Instruction  has  been  started  here  :  but  do  you  know  Avhat 
progress  has  been  made  since  then  ?  One  of  the  two 
Government    Colleges    has   been    abolished  :    I   mean   tlie 


THE    NINTH    CONGRESS  173 

Delhi  Government  College.  The  fees  in  Government 
Colleges  have  been  this  year  raised  from  Rs.  2  to  Rs.  12 
per  mensem,  and  they  have  also  been  raised  in  schools. 
The  bravery  of  the  Panjabis,  the  Sikhs  and  the  Rajputs  on 
the  helds  of  Egypt,  Abyssinia  and  Afghanistan  has 
been  rewarded  by  shutting  the  doors  of  higher  education 
and  the  beneiits  of  civilisation  on  their  children. 

Mr.  S.  K.  Nair  seconded,  contrasting  the  policy  of 
Japan  witli  that  of  Britain  as  regarded  technical 
education. 

Resolution  XIII  regretted  the  despatch  of  the 
Secretary  of  State,  saying  that  the  Executive  might 
have  to  review  "  judicial  errors,"  a  dangerous  doc- 
trine, threatening  the  independence  of  the  Courts. 
Kai  Bahadur  P.  Ananda  Charlu  moved  it  and 
Mr.  Kalicharan  Bannerji  seconded,  pointing  out  that 
the  despatch  put  might  above  right.  Rai  Jotindra- 
nath  Ohaudhuri  followed,  and  Pandit  Mohan  Lai 
made  a  powerful  speech,  showing  how  English  Judges 
had  vindicated  the  independence  of  their  Courts 
against  both  King  and  Parliament.  After  the  motion 
was  carried,  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  moved  Resolution  XIV, 
against  the  stoppage  of  silver  coinage,  showing  the 
evils  resulting,  and  pointing  out  that 

the  hard-working  labourers,  the  overtaxed  peasantry, 
are  being  impoveinshed  in  order  that  Government  officials 
and  usurers  may  fatten  at  their  expense.  ...  It  robs 
the  ryots  ;  it  entails  an  additional  burden  on  them  in 
order  to  actually  compensate  a  microscopic  minority 
already  in  receipt  of  salaries  which  find  no  parallel  in 
any  part  of  the  civilised  globe. 

Mr.  R.  P.  Karandikar  seconded,  and  the  Resolution 
was  carried. 


174  HOW   INDIA   WROttdiit    FOfi   FfiEEDOM 

Then  followed  a  protest  against  the  exchange  com- 
pensation allowance  to  Europeans  and  Eurasians — 
Resolution  XY — that  the  Viceroy  had  called  the 
"  crime  of  the  26th  of  June,"  moved  by  the  Hon. 
Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji,  who  charged  "  the 
Government  of  India  with  trifling  with  the  interests 
of  the  people  and  having  been  guilty  of  injustice  to 
the  interests  committed  to  its  care  by  granting  this 
absurd  allowance  to  its  non-domiciled  Europeans. 
It  is  a  grave  charge,  but  I  make  it  deliberately." 
The  Government,  he  pointed  out,  never  had  funds  for 
reforms.  No  money  to  improve  the  police,  no  money 
to  separate  judicial  and  executive  functions,  no 
money  for  sanitation. 

But  when  it  conies  to  a  question  of  granting  com- 
pensation to  the  Services,  then  Government  is  as  rich  as 
the  richest  Government  in  the  world  ;  and  from  whom  is 
this  money  taken  ?  You  heard  yesterday  the  story  of 
India's  poverty  related  in  graphic  and  earnest  language 
by  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  ;  you  heard  on  the  highest 
official  authority  tliat  20,000,000  of  people  had  died  of 
starvation  in  the  last  few  years  ;  you  heard  that  40,000,000 
live  on  one  meal  a  day  ;  and  now  these  40,000,000  people 
will  be  burdened  with  additional  taxation.  They  will  be 
stinted  of  their  food,  of  their  rice  and  of  their  salt,  in 
order  that  the  highly  paid  officials  of  the  Government 
may    be   provided    with    their    usual    brandy,    beef    and 

champagne.      I  think  it  is  an  unutterable  shame We 

are  the  children  of  the  soil  ;  we  are  the  helots  of  the 
land,  the  hewers  of  wood  and  the  drawers  of  water,  and 
we  exist  for  the  Services,  tlie  gods  of  the  bureaucracy. 
Illustrious  men  of  Bombay,  men  of  the  Panjab,  men  of 
nortliern  India,  men  of  Bengal,  let  us  combine,  let  us  take 
a  Hrm  stand,  and  let  us  not  rest  till  we  have  succeeded 
in  convincing  these  gods  of  their  iniquities  ;  let  us  not 
rest    till    we    have     disenchanted    them     of    the    illusion 


THE    NINTH    CONGRESS  175 

under  wliicli  they  labour,  namely  that  the  country  is  theirs 
and  not  ours.  The  country  is  ours  and  theirs  ;  and  India 
is  for  England  and  also  for  India  ;  primarily  for  India 
and  secondarily  for  England. 

Mr.  W.  A.  Chambers  seconded  tlie  motion  in  a 
strong  speech,  denouncing  the  compensation  as 
neither  Christian,  nor  righteous.  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha 
supported  with  some  telling  statistics. 

Resolution  XVI  was  a  request  to  the  Clovernment 
to  put  an  end  to  forced  labour,  moved  by  Lala  Dliarm 
Das  Sari  and  seconded  by  Lala  Kanakya  Lai  in  an 
impassioned  speech.  He  pointed  out  that  forced 
labour  was  slavery,  and  England  put  down  slavery 
in  Africa,  but  winked  at  it  in  India.  It  was  for- 
bidden, but  officials  used  it. 

Resolution  XVII  thanked  Lord  Northbrook  for 
pleadiiig  in  Parliament  for  the  reduction  of  the 
Home  (Foreign)  Charges.  It  was  moved  by 
Mr,  G.  K.  Gokhale,  who  remarked  that  the  state- 
ments made  in  the  debate  on  Lord  Northbrook's 
motion  furnished  an  indictment,  if  the  Government 
were  ever  put  on  its  trial ;  it  was  admitted  that 
burdens  justly  belonging  to  England  were  thrown  on 
India,  and  the  Duke  of  Argyll  said  the  grievance 
should  be  removed  before  India  heard  of  it,  as  though 
Mr.  Wacha  had  not  protested  against  it  from  the 
Congress  platform  !  Home  Charges  had  increased 
from  £7  millions  to  £16  millions  in  80  years.  With 
part  of  this  the  House  of  Commons  had  nothing  to 
do,  but  it  could  deal  with  the  India  Office  and  the 
Army.  The  former  might  pass,  for  although  it  paid 
liberally  its  "  respectable  and  at  the  same  time  useless 


176  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

and  mischievous  old  gentlemen,"  the  item  was 
comparatively  small.  But  the  "  Home  Military 
Charges  "  had  risen  from  £2  millions  to  over  £5 
millions,  and  the  recruits  which  cost  the  War  Office 
£19  per  head  were  chai'ged  to  India  at  £105  per 
man.  When  England  borrowed  Indian  troops,  she 
forgot  to  ])ay  for  them  ;  when  India  borrowed  English 
troops^  she  paid  all  ordinary  and  extraordinary 
expenses. 

Mr.  D.  B.  Chakradev  seconded,  and  the  Resolution 
was  carried. 

Resolution  XVIII  asked  for  the  raising  of  the 
Chief  Court  of  the  Panjab  to  a  High  Court  :  Resolu- 
tion XIX  thanked  the  electors  of  Central  Finsbury, 
and  Resolution  XX  assigned  Rs.  60,000  for  the 
British  Committee  and  India.  Resolutions  XXI, 
XXII  and  XXIII  followed,  thanking  Sir  William 
Wedderburn  and  the  British  Committee,  re-appoint- 
ing Mr.  A.  0.  Hume  as  General  Secretary,  and  fixing 
on  Madras  as  the  meeting-place  of  the  next  Congress. 
Then  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  President  was  carried, 
and  with  a  few  words  from  liim,  the  Xinth  Congress 
was  dissolved. 

RESOLUTIONS 

Representation 

1.  Resolved — Tliat  this  Congress  while  tendering  its  most 
sincere  thanks  to  His  Excellency  the  Viceroy  for  the  liberal  sj>irit  in 
which  he  has  endeavoured  to  give  effect  to  the  Indian  Councils'  Act 
of  1892,  regrets  to  have  to  put  on  record  the  facts,  that,  alike  in  the 
Rules  of  the  Government  of  India  and  in  the  practice  of  most  of  the 
Local  Governments,  notably  in  that  of  the  Government  of  Bombay, 
material  alterations  are  necessary  if  real  effect  is  to  be  given  to  the 


THE    NINTH    CONGRESS  177 

spirit  of  this  Act,  and,  that  the  Panjab,  one  of  the  most  important 
Provinces  in  the  Empire,  is  still  denied  the  right  to  be  represented, 
either  in  the  Vicero^^'s  or  in  any  Local  Council. 

Legislative  Council  and  High  Court  (Panjab) 

II.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  in  concurrence  with  the 
first  Congress  held  at  Bombay  in  1885  and  other  subsequent 
Congresses,  considers  that  the  creation  of  a  Legislative  Council  for 
the  Province  of  the  Panjab  is  an  absolute  necessity  for  the  good 
government  of  that  Province,  and,  having  regard  to  the  fact  that  a 
similar  Council  has  been  created  for  the  United  Provinces,  hopes 
that  no  time  will  be  lost  in  creating  such  a  Council. 

XVIII.  Resolved — That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  the 
time  has  now  come  to  raise  the  status  of  the  Chief  Court  of  the 
Panjab  to  that  of  a  Chartered  High  Court,  in  the  interest  of  the 
administration  of  justice  in  that  Province. 

Confirmation  of  Previous  Resolutions 

III.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  concurs  with  its  predecessors 
in  strongly  advocating— (repeats  exactly  Resolution  V  of  1892,  Eighth 
Congress). 

Civil  Medical  Service 

IV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  time 
has  arrived  when,  in  the  interest  of  public  medical  education  and 
the  advancement  of  medical  science  and  of  scientific  work  in  this 
country,  as  also  in  the  cause  of  economic  administration,  the  Civil 
Medical  Service  of  India  should  be  reconstructed  on  the  basis  of 
such  servi(!es  in  other  civilised  countries,  wholly  detached  from  and 
independent  of  the  Military  service,  so  as  to  give  full  effect  to  the 
educational  policy  of  Government,  which  is  to  encoui-age  education 
for  its  own  sake  in  every  branch,  and  to  raise  a  scientific  medical 
profession  in  India  by  throwing  open  fields  for  medical  and 
scientific  work  to  the  best  talent  available  and  indigenous  talent 
in  particular. 

Legal 

VI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  having  now  for  many 
successive  years  vainly  appealed  to  the  fxovemment  of  India  to 
remove  one  of  the  gravest  stigmas  on  British  rule  in  India,  one 
fraught  with  incalculable  oppression  to  all  classes  of  the  community 
throughout  the  country,  now  hopeless  of  any  other  redress,  humbly 
entreats  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India  to  order  the  immediate 
appointment,  in  each  Province,  of  a  Committee  (one  half  at  least, 
of  whose  members  shall  be  non-official  natives  of  India,  qualified 
by   education  and  expei-ience  in  the  workings  of  the  various  Coiu'ts 


178  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

to  deal  witli  the  question)  to  prepare  each  a  scheme  for  the 
complete  separation  of  all  Judicial  and  Executive  functions  in  their 
own  Province  with  as  little  additional  cost  to  the  State  as  may  be 
practicable,  and  the  submission  of  such  schemes,  with  the  com- 
ments of  the  several  Indian  Governments  thereon,  to  liiniself  at 
some  early  date  which  he  may  be  pleased  to  fix. 

Prostitution 

VII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  having  considered  the 
Eeport  of  the  Parliamentary  members  of  the  India  Office  Committee 
on  the  subject  of  the  Rules,  Orders  and  Practices  in  Indian  Canton- 
ments witli  regard  to  pi'ostitution  and  contagious  disease,  hereby 
endorses  their  conclusions  : 

1.  That  the  system  and  incidental  practices  described  in  that 
Report  and  the  statut(iry  i-ules,  so  far  as  they  authorised  or  permitted 
the  same,  did  not  accoi'd  with  the  plain  meaning  and  intention  of 
the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  June  5th,  1888  ;  and 

2.  That  the  only  effective  method  of  preventing  these  system- 
atic malju-actices  is  by  express  legislation. 

Poverty 

VIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  concurring  in  the  views 
set  forth  in  previous  Congresses,  affirms  : 

That  fully  fifty  millions  of  the  population,  a  number  yearly 
increasing,  are  dragging  out  a  miserable  existence  on  the  verge  of 
stai'vation,  and  that  in  every  decade,  sevei-al  millions  actually  perish 
by  starvation. 

And  humbly  urges,  once  more,  that  immediate  steps  be  taken 
to  remedy  this  calamitous  state  of  affairs. 

Forest  Laws 

IX.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  very  serious 
discontent  created,  especially  in  Peninsular  India  and  in  certain 
hilly  tracts  in  the  Panjab,  by  the  practical  administration  of  the 
Forest  Laws,  the  (lovernment  of  India  be  most  respectfully,  but 
earnestly,  entreated  to  investigate  this  matter  carefully  and  endeav- 
our to  mitigate  its  hai-shness  and  render  it  less  obnoxious  to  the 
poorer  classes. 

Permanent  Settlement 

X.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  having  on  many  {)revious 
occasions  urged  on  the  Government  of  India  the  necessity  for 
giving,  as  wafi  promised  by  the  British  Government  over  thirty 
years  ago,  fixity  and  permanence  to  the  Land  Revenue  demand, 
wherever  this  has  not  already  been  conceded,  desires  now  to 
reiterate   emphatically  this  recommendation  and  to  call  attention  to 


THE    NINTH    CONGRESS  179 

the  profound  alarm  which  has  been  created  by  the  action  of  Grovern- 
nient  in  interfering  with  the  existing  permanent  settlement  in 
Bengal  and  Behar  (in  the  matter  of  the  survey  and  other  cesses) 
and  with  the  terms  of  the  sanads  of  the  permanently  settled  estates 
ill  Madras,  and  deeming  such  tampering  with  solemn  public  pledges, 
no  matter  under  what  pretences,  a  national  calamity,  hereby 
pledges  itself  to  oppose,  in  all  possible  legitimate  ways,  anj'  and  all 
such  reactionary  attacks  on  permanent  settlements  and  their 
holders. 

XL  Resolved — That  this  Congress  regrets  extremely  that  the 
Government  of  India  have  not  only  failed  to  carry  out  the  pledges 
for  a  permanent  settlement  in  the  Provinces  in  which  it  does  not 
exist  (given  by  the  Secretary  of  State  in  his  despatches  of  1862  and 
1865)  but  have  also  failed  to  give  effect  to  the  policy  of  granting  a 
modified  fixity  of  tenure  and  immunity  from  enhancements,  laid 
down  in  1882  and  1884^  by  the  Government  of  India,  and  appi-oved 
l)y  the  Secretary  of  State. 

Education 

XII.  Resolved —That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  inex- 
pedient in  the  present  state  of  Education  in  the  country,  that 
Govei'nment  grants  for  High  Education  sliould  in  any  way  be 
withdrawn,  and  concurring  with  previous  Congresses,  affirms  in  the 
most  emphatic  manner,  the  importance  of  increasing  the  public 
expenditure  on  all  branches  of  Education,  and  the  expediency  (in 
view  to  the  promotion  of  one  of  the  most  essential  of  those  branches, 
i.e.,  the  technical,)  of  appointing  a  mixed  Commission  to  enquire  into 
the  present  industrial  condition  of  the  country  ;  and  looking  to  the 
great  poverty  of  many  classes  of  the  community,  strongly  recom- 
mends, that  in  all  classes  of  Government  or  Municipal  Schools  and 
Colleges,  all  fees  shall  be  i-educed  in  proportion  to  the  means  of 
parents  and  relations  and  remitted  wholly  in  the  case  of  very  poor 
students  ;  and,  focussing  the  universal  opinion  of  the  Indian  Com- 
munity that  undue  stress  is  being  laid  at  present  upon  mere  mental 
development,  this  Congress  earnestly  recommends  that  henceforth,  in 
all  grades  and  classes  of  Schools  and  Colleges,  at  least  equal  attention 
should  be  devoted  to  the  physical  development  of  the  students. 

Executive  and  Bench 

XIII.  Resolved — That  tin's  Congress  regrets  to  notice  that  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  India  in  his  recent  despatch  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  has  enunciated  the  doctrine  that  occasions  may  arise 
in  which  it  may  be  the  duty  of  the  Executive  Government  to 
criticise  Judicial  errors,  the  Congress  being  of  opinion  that  such 
criticism  is  calculated  to  shake  the  contidence  of  the  ]ieopl(>  in  the 
independence  of  .ludicial  tribunals. 


180  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Monetary 

XIV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  places  on  record  its  deep, 
regi'et  at  the  recent  hasty  legislation  of  the  Government  of  India 
closing  the  Indian  mints  against  the  private  coinage  of  silver, 
whereby  the  people  of  this  country  have  been  siibjet^ted  to  further 
indirect  taxation  of  a  burdensome  and  indefinite  character,  and 
some  of  the  most  important  trades  and  industries,  notably  the  Mill 
industry,  have  been  seriously  disorganised  and  injured. 

XV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  records  its  em])hatic 
protest  against  the  Exchange  Compensation  Allowance  granted  to 
the  undomiciled  European  and  Eurasian  employees  of  Government, 
involving  an  annual  expenditure  of  over  a  crore  of  Rupees,  and  to 
the  Banks,  to  the  extent  of  £131,000,  at  a  time  when  the  financial 
situation  of  the  country  is  far  fi-om  satisfactory  and  the  country  is 
threatened  with  additional  taxation. 

Forced  Liabour  and  Supplies 

XVI.  Resolved — That  tlio  Government  of  India  be  moved, 
once  for  all,  to  put  a  stop,  by  new  and  express  legislation,  (the 
existing  provisions  of  the  Penal  Code  having  proved  inoperative)  to 
the  existing  oppressive  system  of  forced  labour  (known  as  Begar) 
and  forced  contributions  of  supplies  (known  as  Rasads),  which, 
despite  numerous  Resolutions  of  the  Government  of  India,  are  still 
prevalent  through  India. 

Thanks  of  Congress 

V.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  thank  the  British 
House  of  Commons  for  their  just  and  wise  vote  in  regard  to 
Simultaneous  Examinations  in  England  and  in  India,  and  most 
earnestly  prays  that  august  body  to  insist  upon  their  orders  being 
given  prompt  effect  to  by  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India  and  the 
Government  of  India. 

XVII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  tenders  its  most  sincere 
thanks  to  Lord  Northbrook  for  his  powei-ful  advocacy  of  India's 
claim  to  have  her  burden  of  Home  Charges  reduced,  and  respect- 
fully entreats  tlie  House  of  Commons  to  appoint  at  an  early  date  a 
Committee  of  their  Honourable  House  to  arrive  at  some  equitable 
settlement  of  the  matter. 

XTX.  Resolved-  That  this  Congress  tenders  its  best  thanks  to 
the  Electors  of  Central  Finsbui'y,  both  for  their  kindly  sympathy  in 
its  objects  and  for  having  so  generously  accorded  to  it  the  valniiljle 
services  of  their  honoured  member  Mr.  Naoroji,  who  is  destined,  the 
Congress  hoj)es,  long  to  repre.seut  both  Central  Finsbury  and  Indi;i 
in  the  Britisli  House  of  Pai'lianieiit. 


THE    NINTH    CONGRESS  181 

XXI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  hereby  tenders  its  most 
grateful  acknowledgments  to  Sir  W.  Wedderburn  and  the  members 
of  the  British  Congress  Committee  for  the  services  rendered  by 
them  to  India  during  the  past  year. 

Congress  Work 

XX.  Resolved — That  a  sum  of  Rs.  6(>,000  be  assigned  for 
the  expenses  of  the  IJritish  Committee  and  the  cost  of  the  Congress 
Publication,  India,  and  that  the  several  circles  do  contribute  as 
ari'anged  either  now,  or  hereafter  in  Committee,  for    the  year  1894. 

Formal 

XXII.  Resolved — That  this  Congi-ess  re-appoints  Mr.  A.  O. 
Hume,  C.B.,  to  be  its  General  Secretary  for  the  ensuing  year. 

XXIII.  Resolved— That  the  Tenth  National  Congress  do 
assemble  on  such  da)'  after  Christmas  Day,  1894,  as  may  be  later 
determined  upon,  at  Madras. 


16 


CHAPTER  X 


The  Congress  of  1894  marked  the  close  of  the  first 
decade  of  its  work,  and  it  came  back  to  Madras,  after 
seven  years,  to  find  the  fair  city  stronger  than  ever 
in  her  devotion  to  the  work.  Rs.  40,000  had  been 
collected  by  the  Reception  Committee  before  the 
Congress  met,  and,  1,163  delegates  gathered  in  the 
huge  pandal  which  gave  accommodation  to  nearly 
5,000  people.  The  delegates  from  Madras  Presidency 
of  course  headed  the  list : 


Madras... 

..   947 

Bombay  (128)  Sindh  (4)       

..    132 

C  P.,  Berar  and  Seciinderabad 

..     37 

Bengal  ... 

..     30 

N.  W.  P.  and  Oudh 

..     13 

Panjab  ... 

..       4 

1,163 

Madras  is  so  far  south  that  it  is  difficult  for  dele- 
gates to  reach  her,  but  she  is  one  of  the  best,  perhaps 
the  best,  organised  circle. 

December  26th  Avas  the  first  day  of  the  Con- 
gress, and  the  Hon.  Mr.  P.  Rangiah  Naidu, 
as    the     Chairman      of    the     Reception     Committee 


THE    TENTH    CONGRESS  183 

welcomed  the  delegates,  and  remarked  that  as 
their  influence  grew,  opposition  grew  also,  and 
pointing  as  proof  to  the  Parliamentary  Blue  Book 
on  Simultaneous  Examinations,  showing  the  "  strain- 
ing of  the  relations  between  educated  Indians  and 
the  officials,"  who  cried  down  the  men  educated  in 
the  schools  and  colleges  founded  by  the  British, 
characterising  "  them  as  a  class  of  disloyal  men, 
devoid  of  influence  with  their  own  countrymen  and 
incapable  of  discharging  any  responsible  public 
duty  ".  He  described  the  evils  which  arose  from  the 
class  of  Englishmen  who  came  to  India  merely  to 
earn  their  living  and  had  no  permanent  stake  in  the 
country,  but  who  influenced  opinion.  "  An  absentee 
Government  involves  a  frightful  strain  on  the 
country's  financial  resovirces,  an  overgrown  military 
system  absorbs  one-third  of  the  net  revenue,  the 
Free  Trade  principles  thrust  on  us  have  destroyed 
the  old  industries,  the  population  has  grown  in 
advance  of  the  food  supply,  and  poverty  is  increasing 
from  year  to  year."  After  offering  warm  thanks 
to  Colonel  Moore,  the  Chairman  of  the  Madras 
Municipality,  for  much  kindly  help,  he  called  on 
the  Congress  to  elect  its  President. 

Raja  Sir  Savalai  Ramaswami  Mudaliar  proposed, 
and  Raja  Rampal  Singh  seconded,  the  election  of 
Mr.  Alfred  Webb,  M.P.,  an  Irishman. 

In  taking  the  chair,  the  President  glanced  at  the 
past  of  the  Congress,  and  mentioned  the  death  of 
Mr.  Charles  Bradlaugh,  M.P.,  than  whom  "  you 
never    lost    a    better    nor    an  abler  friend.     Few  men 


184  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

were  ever  so  sincerely  mourned  by  a  larger  propor- 
tion of  tlie  liuman  race."  There  spoke  the  gratitude 
of  an  Irishman  to  Ireland's  true  friend.  Mr.  Webb 
pointed  to  the  figures  of  Indian  taxes  spent  abroad, 
"  25  per  cent  of  your  total  expenditure.  No  country 
could  permanently  afford  sucli  a  drain."  He  urged 
the  well-worn  arguments  on  taxation,  on  agriculture, 
on  representation  ;  and  concluded  b}'  declaring  that 
the  Congress  was  "  in  truth  the  greatest  combined 
peaceful  effort  for  the  good  of  the  largest  number  of 
the  human  race  that    history  has  recorded  ". 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Webb's  speech,  a  generous 
gift  of  Rs.  10,000  to  the  Congress  funds  from  the 
Raja  of  Ramnad  was  announced,  the  Subjects 
Committee  was  confirmed,  and  the  Congress  adjourned. 

The  work  of  the  second  day  began  with  the  reading 
of  the  rules  for  the  conduct  of  business,  and 
Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  moved  Resolution  I,  protesting 
against  the  injustice  of  imposing  excise  duties  on 
cotton  goods,  crippling  the  infant  mill  industry  of 
India  and  sacrificing  the  interests  of  India  to  those 
of  Lancashire.  He  praised  the  Government  of  India 
foi'  its  resistance  to  the  Excise  Bill,  and  l)lamed  the 
Secretary  of  State.  Tlie  tax  was  unjust,  and  it  was 
also  impolitic,  for  it  retarded  industrial  development. 
He  lamented  tlie  helplessness  of  the  Government 
of  India,  rcinarkiiig  that  it  miglit  as  well  cease  to 
exist  if  it  was  merely  "  the  registrar  of  the  ukases  of 
the  great  autoci'at  for  the  time  being  at  Westmins- 
ter ".  The  Hon.  Mi'.  A.  Sabapati  Mudaliar  seconded 
the  Resolution  and  it  was  carried. 


THE    TENTH    CONGRESS  185 

Eesolutioii  II,  moved  by  Mr.  Baikunthanath  Sen, 
who  had  seconded  a  sinnlar  one  in  1893,  expressed 
the  alarm  caused  by  the  In-each  of  the  Government 
pledges  as  to  settled  estates,  and  its  interference  with 
the  permanent  settlement  in  Bengal  and  Bihar.  The 
Hon.  Mr.  Natu  seconded,  and  pointed  out  how  Bombay 
was  being  ruined  by  resettlements,  the  increase  in 
six  Taluqs  in  the  Ratnagiri  and  Albag  Districts  being 
1,200  per  cent.  The  entire  assessment  in  Bombay 
was  increased  by  12  lakhs.  An  amendment  was 
moved  but  there  was  no  seconder,  and  the  Hon. 
Mr.  Kalyanasundram  Iyer  supported  the  resolution, 
pointing  out  that  in  a  country  where  80  per  cent  of 
the  population  cultivated  the  land,  there  was  really 
no  unearned  increment  to  be  claimed  by  the  State. 
Mana  Vikrama  Raja  spoke  for  Malabar,  where  Hindu 
rulers  had  imposed  no  taxation,  and  there  had  been 
nmch  trouble  over  the  question,  for  a  permanent 
settlement  had  been  granted  in  1803  and  1805,  and 
any  interference  was  a  breach  of  faith.  Four  other 
speakers  followed,  and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Mr.  Seymour  Keay,  M.  P.  moved  Resolution  III  on 
remedying  the  poverty  of  India,  and  said  that  after 
32  years  of  close  intercourse  with  the  Indian  masses, 
he  was  obliged  to  recognise  as  a  cause  the  enormous 
cost  of  an  alien  Government.  Some  of  them  had 
tried  to  force  an  enquiry  in  the  House  of  Commons 
into  the  state  of  the  masses,  and  their  power  to  sus- 
tain the  enormous  cost  of  Government.  He  showed 
how  the  Secret  Department  of  the  Government  of 
India  had   been    used    to  obtain  figures  to  controvert 


186  HOW    INDIA   WROUaHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

statements  that  liad  been  made,  and  how  they  had 
forced  Sir  John  Gorst  to  put  the  Blue  Books  in  their 
hands.  He  then  gave  many  figures  from  these/  and 
finally  declared  that  India's  only  hope  lay  in  bringing 
the   facts   before  the  English  Parliament  and  people  : 

Once  inform  them  of  tlie  truth,  and  I  say,  and  I  say 
it  with  all  assurance,  that  the  great  heart  of  the  English 
Nation    will    grant  you  both  speedy  and  effective  remedy. 

Alas  !  how  often  we  have  heard  that,  but  the  great 
heart  does  not  respond.  But  I  believe  that  an  agita- 
tion in  Britain,  based  on  facts  and  figures  would  move 
the  British  Democracy.  Successive  British  Govern- 
ments have  long  known  it,  but  they  will  not  see.  We 
must  reach  the  Democracy.  It  will  be  reached  by  the 
little  book  mentioned  below,  and  by  the  English 
Division  of  the  Home  Rule  League. 

Mr.  Nandi  secouded  the  Resolution  and  pointed 
out  that  the  highest  officials  were  kept  in  ignorance 
of  facts,  and  even  when  on  tour  the  addresses  present- 
ed to  them  contained  the  views  of  the  officials,  not 
of  the  people  supposed  to  present  them  ;  hence  they 
inevitably  lived  in  a  roseate  atmosphere,  and  were 
angry  with  any  who  spoke  of  the  facts.  Here  and 
there  a  conscientious  officer  mentioned  the  facts. 
Mr.  H.  C.  Irwin,  of  the  Bengal  Civil  Service,  writing 
of  the  poverty  of  Oudh  said  :  "  While  the  millions 
suffer  from  chronic  hunger,  it  would  be  as  easy  to 
make  a  pyramid  stand  upon  its  apex  as  to  regenerate 
them    by    ornamental    legislation,   or  by  anything  but 

^  A  number  of  these  are  given  in  uiy  little  book,  India — a  Nation, 
in  Jack's  People's  Books.    Let  us  see  the  effect. 


THE    TENTH    CONGRESS  187 

putting  them  beyond  the  ceaseless  pressure  of  physi- 
cal want."  He  sternly  added  that  Oudh  had  been 
annexed  on  the  plea  of  the  degradation  of  the 
cultivators ;  let  it  not  be  said  that  with  "  all  the 
means  in  our  hands  of  raising  the  peasantry  of  Oudh 
from  the  squalid  poverty  and  debasement  which  for 
centuries  past  have  been  their  lot,  we  ignobly  suffered 
them  to  perish  ".  Lala  Mui'lidhar  supported,  sarcastic- 
ally saying  that  as  it  Vv^as  "  easier  for  a  camel  to 
pass  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich 
man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  the  people 
of  India  should  surely  be  happy,  since  "  the  doors  of 
heaven  have  been  opened  to  you  while  they  have 
been  shut  against  all  the  people  of  Europe  ".  The 
poor  need  not  fear  thieves.     As  for  facts  and  figures  : 

Go  and  see  those  tigures  in  houses  and  see  their 
squalid  condition,  pale  and  miserable,  with  no  food  to  eat, 
and  with  no  drink  to  take,  and  with  no  salt.  Well,  then, 
is  not  that  the  condition  of  anchorites  and  holy  people  ? 
What  do  you  want  more  ?  Why  do  you  ask  the  Govern- 
ment for  this  or  that  P  .  .  .  You  are  an  ungrateful  people. 
Really  you  are.  You  ask  to  be  admitted  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  your  country.  Wh_y  should  you  have  all  this 
botheration  ?  Numerous  troops  have  been  provided  to 
protect  you  and  your  lives.  Numerous  civil  officials  have 
taken  the  care  olf  your  shoulders.  Then  what  do  you 
want  more  ? 

Mr.  Vishnnpada  Chatterji  followed  with  further 
quotations  from  Government  authorities,  and  aft'^r  a 
Telugu  speech  from  Mr,  Parthasarati  Naidu,  the 
resolution  was  carried. 

Mr.  Eardley  Norton  was  called  on  to  move  Resolu- 
tion IV,  asking  for  the  abolition  of  the  India  Council, 


188  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

without  which  the  re-constitutioii  of  the  Legislative 
Councils  was  useless.  "  At  present  we  stand  sand- 
wiched between  officials  in  India  and  officials  in 
Europe."     The  Council  nieinl)ers 

were  swayed  by  tlie  same  official  interest,  trained  in 
the  same  official  career,  steeped  in  the  same  official  pre- 
judices as  the  men  out  here,  who,  also  with  the  best 
of  intentions,  are  resolutely  endeavouring  to  thwart  and 
obstruct  your  nK)ral,  material  and  political  reforms. 

He  quoted  some  striking  opinions  of  English  states- 
men on  the  way  in  which  the  Council  and  the 
Secretary  of  State  worked  ;  no  one  seemed  to  know 
which  was  the  real  power  : 

If  the  Secretary  of  State  is  to  be  controlled  by  the 
Council,  then  abolish  the  Secretary  of  State.  If  the 
Council  is  to  be  controlled  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  then 
abob"sh  the  Council.  The  dual  existence  is  useless,  danger- 
ous, expensive,  obstructive. 

He  gave  instances  of  commercial  incapacity,  such 
as  sanctioning  the  Calcutta  and  S.  E.  Railway  against 
Lord  Canning's  protest,  guaranteeing  interest  at  5  per 
cent,  and  when  it  was  pi*actically  bankrupt,  buying 
it  at  half  a  million  sterling.  5  per  cent  interest  Avas 
guaranteed  on  a  million  sterling  for  the  Madras  Irri- 
gation Company,  and  as  the  work  never  paid  its  ex- 
penses, it  was  purchased  for  India  at  par.  It  bought 
at  Rs.  1,000  j)er  share  the  shares  of  the  Elphinstone 
Land  and  Ih-ess  Company,  selling  in  the  market  at 
Rs.  339,  A  Council  of  twelve  members  so  incapa- 
ble, at  £  1,200  a  year  each,  was  dear.  Then  politi- 
cally, Mr.  Gladstone  had  remarked  : 

Suddeidy  in  the  dark,  in  the  privacy  of  the  Council 
Chamber,  I  believe   in  answer  to  a   telegram,    without  the 


THE    TENTH    CONGRESS  189 

knowledge  of  Parliament  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
country,  a  law  was  passed,  totally  extinguishing  the 
fi'eedom  of  the  native  press.  I  think  a  law  such  as  that 
is  a  disgrace  to  the  British  Empire. 

What  would  Gladstone  have  said  of  the  deeper 
disgrace  of  the  Press  Act  of  1910  ?  After  a  caustic 
review  of  the  expenses  of  the  India  Council,  including 
the  wages  of  28  housemaids,  1  housekeeper  and 
8  charwomen,  Mr.  Norton  gave  way  to  Mr.  R.  N. 
^ludholkar,  who  seconding  the  Resolution  remarked 
that  the  Council  was  supposed  to  protect  Indian 
interests,  but  it  had  failed  and  egregiously.  The 
Resolution  was  passed,  and  an  invitation  from  the 
Cosmopolitan  Ckib  for  the  29tli  December  was  extend- 
ed to  the  Congress, 

The  third  day,  the  28th  December,  Itegan  with 
Resolution  V,  asking  for  a  Select  Committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons  to  enquire  into  Indian 
finance,  and  Rai  Bahadur  C.  Jambulingam  Mudaliar 
gave  some  striking  facts  to  prove  the  need  for 
enquiry.  He  specially  thanked  Mr.  Westland, 
the  Financial  Secretary  to  the  (Government 
of  India,  whose  sophistry  and  bad  logic  had 
attracted  exceptional  attention  to  the  Indian  Budget, 
and  exposed  Sir  Richard  Temple's  fatuous  statements. 
Mr.  H.  Morgan-Browne  seconded,  and  took  up  the 
question  of  the  Famine  Insurance  Fund,  quoting  the 
solemn  promise  of  the  Gov^ernment  that  the  money 
liaised  by  the  new  taxation  should  be  devoted  wholly 
to  Famine  Relief  and  Insurance,  and  yet  out  of  24 
crores   of   rupees   thus  raised  only  16  crores  had  been 


190  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

used  as  promised.  He  touched  on  the  Exchange 
Compensation,  on  the  "  Stores/'  one  of  the  meanest 
and  most  corrupt  departments  ;  India  was  made  to 
pay  Rs.  120,000  for  a  ball  in  Constantinople,  on  the 
ground  that  it  was  well  for  India  to  be  on  good  terms 
with  the  Sultan  of  Turkey — by  means  of  a  ball, 
outraging   Oriental  and  Musalman  views  of  decency  ! 

Mr.  G.  Subramania  Iyer  urged  that  there  was  no 
responsible  authority  to  control  Indian  administration 
and  remedy  its  defects,  and  the  interests  of  India 
suffered.  Sir  William  Hunter  in  The  Times  impugned 
the  honesty  of  the  Government  of  India,  and  where 
such  accusations  were  made  enquiry  was  needed. 
After  two  other  speeches  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

The  Hon,  Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  was  then 
called  on  to  move  Resolution  VI,  on  the  evergreen 
subject  of  Simultaneous  Examinations,  and  laid 
special  stress  on  the  way  in  which  the  promises  of 
equal  treatment  had  been  broken.  He  concluded 
with  a  glowing  picture  of  the  land  of  promise  on 
which  their  eyes  were  fixed, 

where    their    fetters     will     fall     off,    their    badjj^e    of 

political    slavery    will    disappear where    under    the 

fostering  influence  of  free  political  institutions,  they  will 
develop  a  civilisation  the  noblest  which  the  world  has 
ever  seen,  the  emblem  of  indissoluble  union  between 
England  and  India,  a  civilisation  fraught  with  unspeak- 
able blessings  to  the  people  of  India,  and  unspeakable 
renown  to  the  English  name. 

The  Hon.  Raja   Rampal  Singh   seconded,  and   was 

followed    by    Mr.    R.    Venkata    Subba    Rao,   Moulvi 

Hafiz   Abdul  Rahim,   Mr.  M.  V.   Joshi,  and  Professor 

G.   K.   Gokhale.     The    last-named    pointed    out    that 


THE    TENTH    CONGRESS  191 

the  idea  of  an  "  irreducible  minimum  of  Europeans 
in  the  Service "  had  now  been  boldly  put  forward 
for  the  first  time.  The  Secretary  of  State  and  the 
Government  now  said  that  the  highest  posts  must 
"  for  all  time  to  come  be  held  by  Europeans  ".  That 
meant 

that  the  present  arrangement  sliould  be  perpetuated 
and  is,  in  fact,  an  attempt  to  keep  us  always  under  as  a 
subject  race.  Gentlemen,  is  it  not  plainly  our  duty  as 
men  not  to  allow  this  barefaced  attempt  to  succeed  P  .  .  . 
Let  our  opponents  put  themselves  into  our  position,  and 
then  say  what  they  would  feel.  I  believe  thej'  will  allow 
that  it  is  not  wrong  to  love  one's  country.  I  believe 
they  will  allow  that  it  is  not  wrong  to  have  a  high  ideal 
for  one's  country.  And  then  I  believe  they  will  allow 
that  it  is  not  wrong  for  us  to  be  dissatisfied  with  our 
present  condition.  Well,  gentlemen,  the  pledges  of  equal 
treatment  whicli  England  has  given  us  have  supplied  us 
with  a  high  and  worthy  ideal  for  our  Nation  ;  and  if  these 
pledges  are  repudiated,  one  of  the  strongest  claims  of 
British  rule  to  ovir  attachment  will  disappear. 

Mr.  Gokhale  was  followed  by  Mr.  Ghulam  Ahmed 
Khan  and  Mr.  Seymour  Keay,  who  remarked  that 
the  Blue  Book  had  "  not  a  hint  or  whisper  in  it  of 
any  admission  that  the  natives  of  India  have  even 
the  faintest  right  to  live  on  their  own  soil,  much 
less  that  they  have  any  preferential  claim  over  the 
other  subjects  of  the  British  Empire  to  administer  in 
their  own  countr}'  ".  The  Resolution  was  then 
carried  unanimously. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  N.  Subba  Rao  moved  Resolution  VII 
on  the  recruitment  for  the  Judicial  Service,  and  com- 
plained of  the  system  which  made  men  judges  with- 
out any  sufficient  training  in  law.     These  gentlemen 


192  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

then  supplied  some  of  the  Judges  of  the  High 
Court,  SO  that  "  litigation  has  become  a  question  of 
gambling,  and  no  one  can  be  sure,  notwithstanding 
he  has  a  good  case,  that  that  would  be  the  view 
which  would  prevail  in  the  Courts  ".  Mr.  K.  G.  Natu 
seconded,  Mr.  A.  R.  Krishna  Iyer  supported,  and  the 
Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  YIII  on  the  Medical  Service  was  moved 
by  Dr.  Bahadurji,  who  proved  by  definite  figures 
and  facts  the  gross  injustice  done  by  tlie  privileged 
position  of  the  members  of  the  I. M.S.  to  the  Sub- 
ordinate Medical  Service,  though  some  of  the  latter 
had  passed  higher  educational  tests  than  the  men 
of  the  I.M.S.  The  latter  rose  from  Rs.  500  to 
Rs.  2,500,  while  the  former  rose  from  Rs,  100  to 
Rs.  200.     He  also  urged  : 

Then  there  are  two  other  enlistments  for  the  sub- 
ordinate service — one  military  and  the  other  civil — tlie 
former  being  open  to  Christians  only.  But  see  what 
difference  the  element  of  religion  makes  in  the  treatment 
accorded  to  the  two  classes.  John,  the  Christian,  and 
Pandu,  the  non-Christian,  both  seek  admission  to  tlieii' 
respective  services.  John,  the  Christian,  need  not  know- 
more  than  the  High  School  fourth  standard,  reading, 
writing,  and  sum.s,  but  Pandu,  the  non-Christian,  must 
pass  a  much  higher  test.  They  both  go  through  tlie 
same  professional  course  and  examination.  If  anjtln'ng, 
i^andu  has  to  undergo  a  severer  examination.  John,  the 
Christian,  then  begins  as  a  Military  Apothecary,  and 
works  under  the  regimental  Surgeons.  His  salary 
ranges  from  Rs.  50  to  Rs.  450.  He  may,  however,  he 
promoted  to  the  uncovenanted  grade  and  given  even 
Rs.  750  by  being  found  a  post  in  the  Civil  Depart- 
ment. His  new  designation  is  Assistant  Surgeon, 
I. M.S.,  and  he  rises  from  tlie  rank  of  Lieutenant  to  that  of 


THE    TENTH    CONGEE SS  193 

Major.  But  Pandu,  the  non-Christian,  begins  as  a  Hospital 
Assistant  and  dies  a  Hospital  Assistant.  His  work  is  as 
vast  as  it  is  responsible.  He  practises  medicine,  sui^orery 
and  midwifery.  He  it  is  who  really  dispels  the  ignor- 
ance and  prejudice  of  the  masses  in  regard  to  the  western 
system  of  medicine.  He  treats  a  thousand  times  more  cases 
in  a  month  than  the  highest  officer  of  a  hospital  does  in  a 
year.  On  his  judgment,  intelligence  and  integrity  depend 
the  lives  of  his  fellow  citizens  in  the  Muffasal,  questions 
of  life  and  death  turning  upon  the  nature  of  his  evidence 
in  medico-legal  cases.  But,  alas  !  the  respectability  and 
responsibility  of  this  most  important  servant  of  the  State 
are  in  an  inverse  ratio,  and  that  too  in  very  abnormal 
proportions.  One  feels  almost  ashamed  to  say  that  the 
non-Christian  Paudu,  who  does  such  responsible  and 
excellent  work  for  the  Go\'ernment  is  paid  no  higher 
salary  than  is  paid  to  a  senior  punk  a- walla  in  the 
hospital,  or  a  cook  or  a  coachman.  The  scale  of  his^ 
pay  is  Rs.  16  to  Rs.  80  odd. 

The  Resolution  was  seconded  by  Rai  Bahadur 
P.  Ananda  Charlu,  supported  by  Dr.  M.  G.  Desmukh 
and  carried. 

The  last  Resolution  of  the  day  was  No.  IX,  on^ 
Legislative  Councils,  proposed  by  Pandit  Madan. 
Mohan  Malaviya^  seconded  by  Bakshi  Jaislii  Ram, 
supported  by  three  others  and  carried. 

The  President  announced  the  sad  and  unexpected 
death  of  the  Maharaja  of  Mysore,  just  before  the 
Congress  adjourned,  and  on  the  following  day, 
December  29th,  the  first  business  done  was  the 
passing  in  silence  of  a  resolution  of  grief  for  his   loss. 

The  last  day  of  the  Congress  was,  as  usual,  crowd- 
ed, no  less  than  18  resolutions  being  crushed  into  it. 
The  Hon.  Mr.  Setalvad  proposed  Resolution  XI,  the 
extension  of  trial  by  jury,  the  restoring  of  finality  ta 
17 


194  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

the  verdicts  given  by  juries  as  before  1872,  and  the 
removal  of  the  Government's  power  to  appeal  against 
a^cquittals — that  scandalous  peculiarity  of  Indian  law. 
Mr.  K.  N.  Desmukh  seconded,  and  Mr.  AmbikaCharan 
Mozumdar  made  a  splendid  and  argumentative  speech 
in  support,  full  of  facts.  The  effect,  he  said  finally, 
of  the  law  was  to  divide  the  population  into  two 
castes,  European  Brahmanas  and  Indian  Shudras, 
and  after  pointing  out  that  the  place  where  a  murder 
was  committed  decided  whether  the  accused 
should  "  be  dealt  with  as  a  true  citizen  or  as 
bondsman,"    he    finished    with  a    passionate    appeal : 

Sir,  we  are  judged  without  evidence,  and  condemned 
without  trial  !  Alas,  we  seem  to  be  nobody's  care.  Even 
the  Viceroy,  whom  we  loyally  welcome  as  a  hereditary 
ruler,  in  his  anxiety  to  accentuate  the  invidious  distinction 
of  colour,  has  lost  no  time  in  issuing  on  his  own  motion 
"Confidential  circulars  to  protect  the  rights  of  those  who 
virtually  need  no  protection.  But  though  the  people  have 
been  long  crying  for  help  in  this  and  other  connections, 
the  Gods  are  asleep,  and  thei*e  is  no  response  to  their  call. 
Is  the  race  of  British  philanthropists  extinct  ?  And  have 
the  mighty  builders  of  this  vast  Empire  left  no  heritage 
•of  broad  and  noble  ideals  of  justice  for  their  successors  ? 
We  are  not  appealing  to  Jews  or  Cossacks,  but  to  those 
for  wdiom  they  proudly  say  Milton  wrote  and  Sydney  died, 
and  for  whom  the  Magna  Carta  was  obtained  ;  and,  in 
leaking  our  present  appeal,  we  are  asking  not  only  for  the 
protection  of  our  life,  liberty,  and  property,  but  also  for 
the  vindication  of  the  honour  and  dignity  of  the  great 
British  Constitution. 

The  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  XII,  the  familiar  separation  of  Judicial 
and  Executive  functions,  was  moved,  seconded,  support- 
ed  and    carrit^d,   and  once  more  the  status    of  a  High 


THE    TENTH    CONGRESS  195 

Court  was  claimed  for  the  Panjab  (No.  XIII).  No.  XIV 
was  on  Military  Expenditure,  and  was  moved  and 
seconded  by  two  powerful  speakers — the  Hon.  Mr. 
C.  Sankaran  Nair  and  Mr.  D.  E.  W^acha.  Being 
carried,  it  was  followed  by  Resolution  XY  on  Educa- 
tion, and  then  came  the  Omnibus,  driven  this  time 
by  Pandit  Bishan  Narayana  Dhar.  Four  other 
speakers  were  the  horses  drawing  it  to  victory. 

Resolution  XVII  protested  against  the  further 
powers  conferred  on  magistrates  as  most  arbitrary, 
dangerous  and  unwise,  and  was  carried  after  two 
short  speeches  by  Messrs.  R.  N.  Mudholkar  and 
M.  B.  Namjoshi.  Resolution  XVIII  thanked  the 
Government  of  India  for  its  circular  in  October  1894, 
declaring  that  fiscal  interests  must  be  subordinated 
to  the  needs  of  the  ryots  in  the  management  of 
forests,  a  good  result  of  the  three  preceding  Sessions 
of  the  Congress. 

A  Government  of  India  Notification  of  June,  1891, 
depriving  the  Press  of  liberty  in  territories  under 
British  administration  in  Feudatory  States,  formed 
the  subject  of  the  next  Resolution  (No.  XIX),  moved 
by  Mr.  P.  Ramachandra  Pillai,  one  of  the  delegates 
from  Secunderabad,  a  place  affected  by  the  Notifica- 
tion, which  ran  as  follows  : 

Whereas  some  misapprehension  has  hitherto  existed 
as  to  the  regulations  in  force  in  territory  under  the 
administration  of  the  Governor- General  in  Council,  but 
beyond  the  limits  of  British  India,  with  reference  to 
newspapers  published  within  such  territory,  the  GJoAernor- 
General  in  Council  has  been  pleased  to  make  the  followino- 
order  : 


196  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

1.  ISTo  newspaper  or  other  printed  work,  whether 
periodical  or  other,  containing-  public  news  or  comments 
on  public  news  shall,  without  the  written  permission  for 
the  time  being  in  force  of  the  Political  Agent,  be  edited, 
printed,  or  published,  after  the  1st  day  of  August  1891, 
in  any  local  area  administered  by  the  Governor- General 
in  Council  but  not  forming  part  of  British  India. 

2.  If  after  the  day  aforesaid  any  person  shall  without 
such  permission  as  aforesaid  edit,  print,  or  publish  any 
such  newspaper  or  other  work  as  afoi'esaid  in  any  such 
local  area  as  aforesaid  the  Political  Agent  may  by  order 
in  writing ; 

(a)  require    him    to    leave    such  local  area    within 
seven  days  from  the  date  of    such  order  ; 

(b)  and  prohibit    him  from  re-entering   such  local 
area  without  the  written  permission  of  the  Political  Agent. 

3.  If  any  such  order  as  is  mentioned  in  the  last  fore- 
going paragraph  be  disobeyed,  the  offender  shall  be 
liable  to  forcible  expulsion  from  such  local  area  in  pur- 
suance of  an  order  to  be  made  in  writing  by  the  Political 
Agent. 

It  may  be  noted  that  at  the  present  time  (Septem- 
ber, 1915)  Sir  Hugh  Daly,  Resident  in  Bangalore, 
has,  under  this,  stopped  an  English  paper  which  has 
existed  there  for  many  years.  Mr.  G.  Subramania 
Iyer,  then  Editor  of  The  Hindu,  seconded,  and  the 
Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  XX  brought  up  the  consideration  of  the 
Water-cess,  varying  in  amount  at  the  will  of  the 
Government,  and  urged  that  it  shouhl  be  levied  on 
some  fixed  principle.  It  was  effectively  moved  by 
Mr.  G.  Venkataratnam,  seconded  by  Mr  V.  V. 
Avadhani,  supported  by  Mr,  S.  B.  Sankaram  and 
carried. 


THE    TENTH    CONGEESS  197 

A  protest  Resolution  (iSTo.  XXI)  against  the 
disfranchisement  of  Indians  in  S.  Africa — the  first  of 
many  protests,  was  moved  from  the  Chair  and  carried. 
Resohition  XXII  nominated  a  deputation  to  Lord 
Elgin,  the  Viceroy,  and  Mr.  Fowler,  the  Secretary  of 
State,  to  present  to  them  some  of  the  Congress 
resolutions.  Resolutions  XXIII  and  XXIV,  on  the 
grant  to  the  British  Committee  and  conveying  the 
thanks  of  the  Congress  for  their  work ;  Resolution 
XXV,  re-appointing  Mr.  A.  0.  Hume  as  General 
Secretary;  Resolution  XXVI,  fixing  the  next  meeting 
of  the  Congress  at  Poona,  were  carried.  The 
President  then  moved  an  important  Resolution  (No. 
XXVII)  for  shaping  a  Constitution  for  the  Congress, 
and  requested  the  Standing  Congress  Committee  of 
Poona  to  draft  and  circulate  draft  rules  among  the 
remaining  Standing  Committees  for  report,  the  whole 
to  be  considered  by  the  next  Congress. 

A  vote  of  thanks  was  then  passed  to  the  President, 
and  with  his  brief  reply  the  Tenth  Congress  closed. 

RESOLUTIONS 

Excise  Duty 

I.     Resolved-- 

(a)  That  this  Congress  respectfully  enters  its  emjjhatic  pro- 
test against  the  injustice  and  impolicy  of  imposing  excise  duty  on 
Cottons  manufactured  in  British  India,  as  such  excise  is  calculated 
to  cripple  seriously  the  infant  Mill  Industry  of  this  counti-y. 

(b)  That  this  Congress  puts  on  record  its  firm  conviction 
that  in  proposing  this  excise  the  interests  of  India  have  been  sacri- 
ficed to  those  of  Lancashire,  and  it  strongly  deprecates  any  such 
surrender  of  Indian  interests  by  the  Secretary  of  State. 

(c)  That  in  case  the  Excise  Bill  becomes  law  this  Congress 
earnestly  prays  that  the  Government  of  India  will  without  delay 
seek  the  sanction   of    the   Secretary  of  State  to  exercise  the  powers 


198  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

which  the  Bill   confera  on   Government    to  exempt  all  Cottons  from 
"  twenties  "  to  "  twenty-fours  "  from  the  operation    of  the  Act. 

(d)  That  the  President  be  authorised  to  telegraph  the  above 
Resolution  to  the  Goveimment  of  India  and  to  the  Secretary  of  State. 

Permanent  Settlement 

II.  Resolved — 

(a)  That  this  Congjress  desires  to  express  the  profound 
alarm  which  has  been  created  by  the  action  of  Government  in  inter- 
fering with  the  existing  Permanent  Settlement  in  Bengal  and 
Behar  (in  the  matter  of  Survey  and  other  cesses)  and  with  the 
terms  of  sanads  of  permanently  settled  estates  in  Madras  ;  and, 
deeming  such  interference  with  solemn  pledges  a  national  calamity, 
hereby  pledges  itself  to  oppose  in  all  possible  legitimate  ways  all 
such  re-actionary  attacks  on  Permanent  Settlements  and  their 
holders,  and  resolves  to  petition  Parliament  in  that  behalf, 

(b)  That  this  Congress  regrets  extremely  that  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  have  not  only  failed  to  carry  out  the  pledges  (given  by 
the  Secretary  of  State  in  his  despatches  of  1862  and  1865)  for  Per- 
manent Settlement  in  the  Provinces  in  which  it  does  not  exist,  but 
have  also  failed  to  give  effect  to  the  policy  of  granting  modified 
fixity  nf  tenure  and 'immunity  from  enhancements  laid  down  in 
1882  and  1884  by  the  Government  of  India  and  approved  by  the 
Secretary  of  State ;  and  this  Congress  hereby  entreats  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  to  grant  a  modified  fixity  of  tenure  and  immunity 
from  enhancement  of  land-tax  for  a  sufficiently  long  period  of  not 
less  than  sixty  years,  so  as  to  secui-e  to  landholders  the  full  benefits 
of  their  own  improvements. 

Poverty 

III.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  concurring  in  the  views 
set  forth  in  previous  Congresses,  affirms : 

That  fully  fifty  millions  of  the  poj)ulation,  a  number  yearly 
increasing,  are  dragging  out  a  miserable  existence  on  the  verge  of 
starvation,  and  that,  in  every  decade,  several  millions  actually 
perish  by  starvation. 

And  humbly  urges,  imce  mure,  that  imniediate  steps  bo  taken 
to  remedy  this  calamitous  st;ite  of  affairs. 

India  Council 

IV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  considers  the  Abolition  of  the 
Council  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  as  at  present  constituted, 
the  necessary  ])reliminary  to  all  other  reforms  ;  and  suggests  that  in 
its  place  a  Standing  Committee  of  Members  of  the  Hou.se  of 
Commons  be  a])]K)int('d. 


THE  TENTH  CONGRESS  199 

Finance 

V.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  while  thanking  Her 
Majesty's  Government  for  the  promise  they  have  made  to  appoint  a 
Select  Committee  of  Members  of  Parliament  to  enquire  into  the 
financial  expenditure  of  India,  regards  an  enquiry  with  so  limited  a 
scope  as  inadequate,  and  is  of  opinion  that  if  the  enquiry  is  to  bear 
any  practical  fruit  it  must  include  an  enquiry  into  the  ability  of  the 
Indian  people  to  bear  their  existing  financial  biu-dens,  and  into  the 
financial  relations  between  India  and  the  United  Kingdom. 

XIV.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  fact  that  the 
embarrassed  condition  of  the  finances  of  the  country  has  been 
giving  cause  for  grave  anxiety  for  some  years  past,  this  Congress 
records  its  firni  conviction  that  the  only  remedy  for  the  present 
state  of  things  is  a  material  curtailment  in  the  expenditure  on  the 
Army  Services  and  other  Military  Expenditure,  Home  Charges,  and 
the  cost  of  Civil  Administration,  and  in  view  of  the  proposed 
appointment  of  a  Parliamentary  Committee  to  investigate  the 
subject,  this  Congress  strongly  recommends  that  the  Standing 
Congress  Committees  of  the  several  Presidencies  and  Provinces 
should,  so  far  as  practicable,  make  arrangements  to  send  to  England 
at  least  one  well-qualified  delegate  from  each  Presidency  or  Province 
to  urge  such  reduction  before  the  Committee. 

Public  Service 

VI.  Resolved — 

(a)  That  this  Congress  expresses  its  deep  sense  of  disappoint- 
ment at  the  despatch  of  the  Secretary  of  State  supporting  the  views 
of  the  Government  of  India  on  the  question  of  Simultaneous  Exam- 
inations, and  this  Congress  hereby  places  on  record  its  respectful 
but  firm  protest  against  the  despatch,  as,  among  other  things, 
introducing  a  new  principle  inconsistent  with  the  Charter  Act  of 
1833  and  the  Proclamation  of  the  Queen  of  1st  November  1858  (the 
solemn  pledges  contained  in  which  the  Secretary  of  State  and  the 
Government  of  India  now  seek  to  repudiate)  by  creating  a  disability 
founded  upon  race,  for  the  despatch  lays  down  that  a  minimum  of 
European  officials  in  the  Covenanted  Service  is  indispensable. 

(b)  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  creation  of  the- 
Provincial  Service  is  no  satisfactory  or  permanent  solution  of  the' 
problem,  as  this  Service,  constituted  as  it  is  at  present,  falls  short, 
of  the  legitimate  aspirations  of  the  people,  and  the  interests  of  the- 
subordinate  Service  will  not  sufi'er  by  the  concession  of  Simultaneous: 
Examinations. 

(c)  That  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  make  out  a  case 
against  the  holding  of  Simultaneous  Examinations  for  the  recruit- 
ment of  the    Engineering,    Forest,  Telegraph  and  the  higher  Police 


200  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Service  Exaniinatious,  and  the  Congress  regrets  to  notice  that  the 
despatches  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  the  Government  of  India,  and 
the  various  local  Governments  are  absolutely  si'ent  with  regard  to 
this  aspect  of  the  Resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons. 

(d)  That  this  Congress  resijectfully  urges  on  Her  Majesty's 
Oovernment  that  the  Resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  2nd 
June,  1893,  on  the  question  of  Simultaneous  Examinations  should 
be  speedily  carried  out  as  an  act  of  justice  to  the  Indian  people. 

Liegal 

VII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  views  with  great 
•dissatisfaction  the  system  of  recruiting  the  higher  Judicial  Service 
of  the  coimtry,  and  is  of  oijinion  that  provision  should  be  made  for 
proper  Judicial  training  being  given  to  persons  who  are  appointed 
to  the  post  of  District  and  Sessions  Judge,  and  that  the  higher 
Judicial  Service  in  Bengal,  the  N.W.P.  and  Oudh,  Bombay  and 
Madras,  and  the  Judicial  Service  generally  in  other  parts  of  the 
country,  should  be  more  largely  recruited  from  the  legal  profession 
than  is  now  the  case. 

XI.  Resolved — 

(a)  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  the  time  has  now 
arrived  when  the  system  of  trial  by  Jury  may  be  safely  extended, 
in  cases  triable  by  Sessions  Courts,  to  many  parts  of  the  country 
where  it  is  not  at  present  in  force. 

(b)  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  the  innovation 
made  in  1872  in  the  system  of  trial  by  Jury,  depriving  the  verdicts 
of  Juries  of  all  finality,  has  pro%^ed  injurious  to  the  country,  and 
that  the  powers,  then,  for  the  first  time,  vested  in  Sessions  Judges 
and  High  Courts,  of  setting  aside  verdicts  of  acquittal,  should  be  at 
once  withdrawn. 

(c)  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  it  is  extremely 
desirable  that  the  power  at  present  vested  in  Government  to  appeal 
against  acquittals  be  taken  away. 

XII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  having  till  now  vainly 
appealed  for  many  successive  years  to  the  Government  of  India, 
and  also  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  to  remove  one  of  the  gravest 
<3efects  in  the  system  of  administration  and  one  fraught  with 
"incalculable  oppression  to  all  classes  of  people  throughout  the 
country,  and  having  noted  with  satisfaction  the  admission  of  the 
■evil  by  two  former  Secretaries  of  State  (Lord  Kimberley  and  Lord 
Cross),  and  being  of  opinion  that  the  reform  is  thoroughly 
practicable,  as  has  been  shown  by  Messrs.  R.  D.  Dutt,  M.  M.  Ghose 
•and  P.  M.  Mehta,  entreats  the  Government  of  India  to  direct  the 
immediate  appointment  in  each  Province  of  a  Committee  (one-half 
■at    least    of    whose    members    shall    be  non-official  natives  of  India, 


THE    TENTH    CONGRESS  201 

qualified  by  education  and  experience  in  the  workings  of  various 
Courts  to  deal  with  the  question)  to  prej)are  a  scheme  for  the 
complete  separation  of  all  Judicial  and  Executive  functions  in  their 
own  Province  with  as  little  additional  cost  to  the  State  as  may  be 
practicable,  and  the  submission  of  such  schemes,  with  the  opinions 
of  the  several  Governments  thereon,  at  an  early  date. 

XIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  reaffirms  the  opinion  of 
the  preceding  Congress  that  the  time  has  now  come  to  raise  the 
status  of  the  Chief  Coui-t  of  the  Panjab  to  that  of  a  Chartered 
High  Court  in  the  interests  of  the  administration  of  justice  in  this 
Province. 

XVII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  hereby  empowers  its 
President  to  convey  to  the  Government  of  India  its  opinion  that 
the  powers  proposed  to  be  conferred  on  District  Magistrates  by 
amendments  and  additions  to  section  15  of  Police  Act  V  of  1861,  with 
respect  to  the  levy  of  the  costs  of  punitive  police  and  of  granting 
compensation,  are  of  a  most  arbitrary,  dangerous,  and  unprecedented 
character. 

Medical  Service 

VIII.     Resolved— 

(a)  That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  present 
constitution  of  the  Higher  Civil  Medical  Service  is  anomal- 
ous, indefensible  in  principle,  injurious  in  its  working,  and  un- 
necessarily costly ;  that  the  time  has  arrived  when  in  the  interests 
of  Public  Medical  Education,  and  the  advancement  of  Medical 
Service  and  of  scientific  work  in  the  country,  as  also  in  the  cause  of 
economic  administration,  the  Civil  Medical  Service  of  India  should 
be  reconstructed  on  the  basis  of  such  Service  in  other  civilised 
countries,  wholly  detached  from  and  independent  of  the  Military 
Service. 

(b)  That  the  very  unsatisfactory  position  and  prospects  of 
Members  of  the  Subordinate  Civil  Medical  Service  (Assistant- 
Surgeons  and  Civil  Hospital  Assistants)  comjjared  with  members  of 
similar  standing  in  other  departments  of  the  Public  Service,  require 
thorough  investigation  and  redress,  and  prays  that  Government  will 
grant  for  the  purpose  an  open  enquiry  by  a  mixed  Commission  of 
official  and  non-official  members. 

(c)  That  whilst  this  Congress  views  with  satisfaction  the 
desire  of  the  Imperial  Government  to  reorganise  the  Chemical 
Analyser's  department  with  a  view  to  its  administration  as  an  inde- 
pendent scientific  department,  it  earnestly  hopes  that  Government 
will  not  fail  to  recognise  the  responsible  and  meritorious  work  of 
Assistants,  or  as  they  in  reality  are.  Government  Chemical  Analy- 
sers, and  place  them  on  the  footing  of  Specialists. 


202  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Legislative  Councils  and  Rules 

IX.  Resolved — 

(o)  That  this  Congress,  in  concurrence  with  the  preceding 
Congresses,  considers  that  the  creation  of  a  Legislative  Council  for 
the  Pi-ovince  of  the  Panjab  is  an  absolute  necessity  for  the  good 
Government  of  that  Province,  and  having  regard  to  the  fact  that  a 
Legislative  Council  has  been  created  for  the  N.  W.  Provinces, 
urges  that  no  time  be  lost  in  creating  such  a  Council  for  the  Panjab. 

(b)  That  this  Congress,  in  concurrence  with  the  preceding 
Congress,  is  of  opinion  that  the  Rules  now  in  force  under  the  Indian 
Councils  Act  of  1892  are  materially  defective,  and  prays  that  His 
Excellency  the  Viceroy  in  Council  will  be  pleased  to  have  fresh 
Rules  framed  in  a  liberal  spirit,  with  a  view  to  a  better  working  of 
the  Act  and  suited  to  the  conditions  and  requirements  of  each 
Province. 

Vote  of  Sympathy 

X.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  wishes  to  express  its  re- 
spectful condolence  and  sympathy  with  the  Roj^al  Family  of  Mysore 
in  their  recent  sad  and  sudden  bereavement,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  testify  to  its  deep  sense  of  the  loss  M-hich  has  been  sustained  in 
the  death  of  the  Maharaja  of  Mysore,  not  only  by  the  State  over 
which  he  ruled  with  such  wisdom,  ability  and  beneficence,  but  also 
by  all  the  Indian  peoples,  to  whom  his  constitutional  reign  was  at 
once  a  vindication  of  their  political  capacity,  an  example  for  their 
active  emulation,  and  an  earnest  of  their  future  political  liberties. 

Elducation 

XV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  emjihatically  of  opinion 
that  it  is  inexpedient  in  the  pi-esent  state  of  Education  in  the  country 
that  Government  grants  for  Higher  Education  should  in  any  way  be 
withdrawn,  and,  concurring  with  previous  Congresses,  affirms  in  the 
most  emphatic  manner  the  importance  of  increasing  public 
expenditure  on  all  branches  of  Education  and  the  expediency  of 
establishing  Tcclmical  Schools  and  Colleges. 

Confirmation  of  Previous  Resolutions 

XVI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  concurs  with  its  predecessors 
in  strongly  advocating —j)revious  (a) — (i) 

(j)  The  discontinuance  of  the  Exchange  Compensation 
allowance  granted  to  undomiciled  European  and  Eurasian  employees 
of  Government,  involving  an  annual  expenditure  of  over  a  crore  of 
rupees  while  the  E.xchequer  is  in  a  condition  of  chronic  embarrass- 
ment. 

(A)  Tlie  giving  effect  to  the  Report  of  tlie  Parliamentary 
meinbers  of  the  India  Office  Committee  on  tlie  subject  of  the  Rules, 


THE    TENTH    CONGRESS  203 

Orders,  and  Practices  in  Indian  Cantonments,  with  reg'ard  to 
prostitution  and  contagious  disease,  and  the  endorsing  of  their 
conclusions  : 

(I)  That  the  system  and  incidental  practices  described  in  that 
Report,  and  the  statutory  riiles,  so  far  as  they  authoi-ised  or 
permitted  the  same,  did  not  accord  with  the  plain  meaning  and 
intention  of  the  Resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  June  5th, 
1888;  and 

(II)  That  the  only  effective  method  of  jjreventing  these 
systematic  malpractices  is  by  express  legislation. 

Forest  Administration 

XVIII.  Resolv-ed — That  this  Congress  records  its  deep-felt 
gratitude  to  the  Government  of  India  for  its  circular  resolution 
No.  22/F,  published  in  the  Supplement  to  The  Gazette  of  India,  dated 
20th  October,  1894,  and  its  high  appreciation  of  the  generous  prin- 
ciple, which  it  enunciates,  of  subordinating  fiscal  interest  to  the 
needs  and  agricultural  interests  of  the  ryot  population  in  the 
management  of  forests. 

And  would  further  repi'esent  that  in  forests  falling  under 
classes  3  and  4  of  the  said  resolutions,  fuel,  grazing  concessions, 
fodder,  small  timber  for  building  houses  and  making  agricultural 
implements,  edible  forest  products,  etc.,  may  be  granted  free  of 
charge  in  all  cases,  under  such  restrictions  as  to  quantity,  etc.,  as 
the  Government  may  deeni  proper ;  and  that  wherever  hardship 
may  be  felt,  under  present  conditions,  the  policy  of  the  said 
Resolution  may  be  carried  out  with  reference  to  existing  Forest 
areas,  and  the  existing  Reserve  boundaries  so  adjusted  as  to  leave 
a  sufficiently  large  margin  to  facilitate  the  enjoyment  bj'  the 
agricultural  population  of  their  communal  rights  without  molesta- 
tion and  annoyance  by  the  minor  subordinates  of  the  Department. 

Coercion  of  the  Press 

XIX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  being  of  opinion  that  the 
Government  of  India  Notification  of  25th  June,  1891,  in  the  Foreign 
Department,  gagging  the  Press  in  territories  under  British  admi- 
nistration in  Native  States,  is  retrograde,  arbitrary,  and  mischievous 
in  its  nature,  and  opposed  to  sound  statesmanship  and  to  the 
liberty  of  the  people,  most  respectfully  enters  its  emphatic  protest 
against  the  same  and  entreats  its  cancellation  without  delay. 

Water-Cess 

XX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  views  witJi  apprehension 
the  arbitrary  policy  of  the  Government  of  India  with  regard  to  the 
imposition  of  water-cess,  introducing  as  it  does  a  disturbing  element 
in    taxation,    and    suggests    that    the    imposition  of  the  said  cess  be 


204  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

regulated    by   certain    defined    principles    affording    security  to  the 
rights  of  landowners  and  of  persons  investing  money  in  land. 

South  Africa 

XXI.  Eesolved — That  this  Congress  earnestly  entreats  Her 
Majesty's  Government  to  grant  the  prayer  of  Her  Majesty's  Indian 
subjects,  resident  in  the  South  African  Colonies,  by  vetoing  the  Bill 
of  the  Colonial  Government  disenfranchising  them. 

Deputations 

XXII.  Resolved — That  a  deputation  consisting  of  the  following 
gentlemen  be  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  Resolutions 
numbered  1,2,3,6,7,8,9,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20  and  21  to 
His  Excellency  Lord  Elgin  ;  and  that  the  British  Committee  of  the 
National  Congress  be  requested  to  arrange  a  similar  deputation  to 
wait  upon  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India  in  London. 

From  Bengal  and  Behar  -. — His  Highness  the  Maharaja 
Bahadur  of  Durbhanga,  Sir  Romesh  Chandra  Mitra,  Kf.,  Hon  Mr. 
W.  C.  Bannerji,  Hon.  Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji,  Mr.  J  Ghosal, 
Babu  Saligrain  Singh,  Mr.  Shuref-tid-din,  Rai  Jotendranath  Chau- 
dhuri    and    Babu  Baikunthanath  Sen. 

From  the  Norfh-West  Provinces-. — Hon.  Raja  Rampal  Singh, 
and  Hon.  Babu  Charu  Chandra  Mitra. 

From  Oudh  : — Sheikh  Raja  Hussein  Khan,  Mr.  Hamid  Ali 
Khan  and  Babu  Gokal  Chand. 

From  the  Panjah  : — Sardar  Dayal  Singh  Majithia,  Mr.  Kali 
Prasanna  Rai,  Mr.  Jussawala,  Shaik  Umar  Bunksh,  Lala  Murlidhar 
and  Bakshi  Jaishi  Ram. 

From  Bojnhay. — Hon.    Mr.  P.   M.  Mehta,  CLE. 

From  the  Central  Provinces : — Hon.  Mr.  G.  M.  Chitnavis  and 
Rai  Bahadur  C.  Narainswami  Naidu. 

From  Poona  -. — Rao  Bahadur  V.  M.  Bhide,  Mr.  S.  B.  Bhate, 
Mr.  N.  B.  Mule  and  Mr.  P.  L.  Nagpurkar. 

From  Berar  -. — Rao  Sahab  Deorao  Vinayek. 

From  Madras  -. — Manivikram,  Raja  of  Calicut,  Hon.  Mr.  Sabapati 
Mudaliar,  Rai  Bahadur  P.  Ananda  Charlu  and  Mr.  G.  Subramania 
Iyer. 

Congress  Work 

XXIII.  Resolved— TliMt  a  sum  of  lis.  60,000  be  assigned  for 
the  expenses  of  the  British  Committee  and  the  cost  of  the  Congress 
publication,  India,  and  that  the  several  circles  do  contribute  as 
arranged,  either  now,  or  hereafter  in  Committee,  for  the  year  189.5. 


THE    TENTH    CONGRESS  205 

Thanks  of  Congress 

XXIV.  Resolved — That  this  Coiigi-ess  hereby  tenders  its  most 
grateful  thanks  to  Sir  W.  Wedderburn  and  the  other  members  of 
the  British  Congress  Committee  for  the  services  rendered  by  them 
to  India  during  the  present  year. 

Formal 

XXV.  Eesolved — That  this  Congress  reappoints  Mr.  A.  0. 
Hume,  C.B.,  to  be  its  General  Secretary  for  the  ensuing  year. 

XXVI.  Resolved — That  the  Eleventh  Indian  National 
Congress  do  assemble  on  sucb  day  after  Christmas  Day,  1895,  as 
may  be  later  determined  tipon,  at  Poona. 

Congress  Constitution 

XXVII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
time  has  come  when  the  Constitution  of  the  Congress  should  be 
settled,  and  rules  and  regulations  laid  down  as  to  the  number  of 
Delegates,  their  qualifications,  the  localities  for  assemblage,  and 
the  like,  and  with  this  view  the  Congi-ess  requests  the  Standing 
Congress  Committee  of  Poona  to  draw  up  draft  rules  and 
circulate  them  among  the  different  Standing  Congress  Committees 
for  their  report ;  these  reports,  together  with  the  draft  rules  and 
the  report  thereon  to  be  laid  before  the  next  Congress  for  its 
consideration. 


CHAPTER  XI 


The  second  decade  of  the  life  of  the  National  Congress 
opened  at  Poona,  the  great  capital  city  of  Maha- 
rashtra, on  December  27,  1895,  and  it  sat  for  three 
days,  December  27,  28  and  30,  the  29th  being  omitted, 
as  a  Sunday.  No  less  than  1,584  delegates  were  pre- 
sent,  and   there   was   a  huge  crowd  of  visitors.     Tlie 


Bombay  (1,246),  Sindh  (11) 

...  1,257 

Berar,  C.  P. 

...     131 

N.W.  P.  and  Oudh 

...       24 

Bengal 

...       51 

Pan  jab 

3 

Madras 

...     118 

1,584 

The  proceedings  of  tlie  Congress  opened  as  usual 
with  the  welcome  address  of  the  Chairman  of  the 
Reception  Committee,  Rao  Bahadur  V.  M.  Bhide,  a 
noble  and  venerable  man  of  seventy  years  of  age, 
who,  after  a  word  of  welcome,  asked  Professor  G.  K. 
Gokhale — "  as  I  am  a  very  old  man  " — to  read  his 
speech.  At  Poona  it  was,  he  said,  that  Mr.  A.  0. 
Hume  had  first  discussed    the  scheme  of  the  Congress 


THE    ELEVENTH    CONGRESS  207 

with  his  Indian  friends ;  Poona  had  been  first 
chosen  for  its  gathering,  though  the  meeting  had  to 
be  transferred  to  Bombay  ;  and  it  was  fitting  that  its 
second  ten  years'  cycle  should  begin  there.  The 
speech  was  a  particularly  fine  one,  commencing  with 
a  reminder  that  a  hundred  years  before  Poona  had 
been  the  centre  of  a  Confederacy  Avhich  held  together 
the  continent  of  India  from  the  Himalayas  to  Cape 
Comorin,  from  Dwaraka  to  Cuttack,  and  vindicating 
India's  Nationhood.  Met  there  were  they,  he  said, 
to  "  do  all  that  is  in  their  power  to  build  up  the 
great  Indian  Nation,  which  has  been  their  aspiration 
by  day  and  dream  by  night,  and  which,  if  not  fulfilled 
before  their  eyes,  will  certainly  be  accomplished  in  the 
near  future  ".  It  was  for  them  to  justify  those  hopes 
and  aspirations,  "  to  realise  the  dream  of  a  united 
and  federated  India  ".  The  Hon.  Mr.  Surendranath 
Bannerji  had  been  chosen  as  President,  a  man  who 
"  joins  in  himself  all  that  is  good  and  enlightened  in 
young  and  in  old  India,"  holding  "the  foremost 
place  in  the  hearts  of  what  may  well  be  called  the 
hope  and  blossom  of  coming  years — the  hearts  of 
many  thousands  of  students  ". 

The  Hon.  Mr.  P.  Ananda  Charlu  proposed. 
Dr.  K.  N.  Bahadurji  seconded,  and  Mr.  E.  N. 
Mudholkar  supported  the  election  of  the  Hon. 
Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji,  and  it  was  carried  by 
acclamation. 

Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji,  after  a  few  graceful 
words  of  thanks,  referred  to  a  difference  that  had 
arisen   as   to  the  Social  Conference — put  an  end  to  by 


208  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

tlie  tolerant  and  wise  action  of  Mr.  Justice  Ranade — 
and  said  that  the  Congress  was  not  of  one  social 
party  rather  than  another  : 

It  is  the  Cong'ress  of  United  India,  of  Hindus  and 
Muhamraadaiis,  of  Christians,  of  Parsis  and  of  Sikhs,  of 
those  who  would  reform  their  social  customs  and  those 
who  would  not.  Here  we  stand  upon  a  common  platform 
— here  we  have  all  agreed  to  bury  our  social  and  religious 
diiferences,  and  recognise  the  one  common  fact  that  being 
subjects  of  the  same  Sovereign  and  living  under  the  same 
Governmejit  and  the  same  political  institutions,  we  have 
common  rights  and  common  grievances.  And  we  have 
called  forth  this  Congress  into  existence  with  a  view  to 
safeguard  and  extend  our  rights  and  redress  our 
grievances. 

The  President  then  earnestly  besought  the 
delegates,  to  shape  a  Constitution  for  the  Congress. 
In  1887  the  Congress  appointed  a  Committee  to 
consider  what  rules,  if  any,  should  be  framed.  They 
reported,  and  a  Resolution  was  passed  to  circulate 
the  suggested  rules  to  the  Standing  Congress  Com- 
mittees who  were  to  work  on  them  and  report  to  the 
next  Congress  of  1888.  That  was  passed  in  Madras, 
and  nothing  was  done  till  the  Congress  returned  to 
Madras  in  1894,  although  at  Lahore,  in  1893,  a  wish 
for  a  Constitution  was  expressed.  In  1894,  the  Stand- 
ing Committee  at  Poona  was  requested  to  draw  up  and 
circulate  rules ;  they  drew  them  up,  at  the  last 
moment,  and  sent  them  round,  but  there  were  no 
reports  from  the  other  Standing  Committees.  Let 
them  form  a  Committee  to  frame  rules  and  report  on 
the  last  day,  not  circulating  them  to  the  Committee  : 
"  That   is   the    old   plea   for   inaction.      We   shall  not 


THE    ELEVENTH    CONGEESS  209 

have   any   rules   at  all  if  we  are  to  repeat  the  hapless 
experiment  of  former  years." 

Turning  to  National  aifairs,-  the  President  pointed 
out  the  utter  inadequacy  of  the  Councils  Act  of 
1892  ;  for  instance,  Bengal,  with  a  population  of  70 
millions,  had  7  elected  members.  The  right  of  inter- 
pellation had  been  usefully  exercised.  The  members 
were  allowed  to  talk  about  the  Budget,  but  might  not 
move  any  resolution  thereon.  He  then  discussed  the 
tremendous  increase  of  the  military  expenditure  due 
to  the  frontier  and  other  wars  carried  on  by  the 
Government.  The  whole  policy  was  both  wrong  and 
ruinous.  "  Let  me  tell  the  Government  of  India,  in  your 
name,  that  the  true  scientific  frontier  against  Russian 
invasion  does  not  lie  in  some  remote  inaccessible 
mountain,  which  has  yet  to  be  discovered,  nor  is  it  to 
be  found  in  the  House  of  Commons,  as  some  one  said; 
but  it  lies  deep  in  the  heart  of  a  loyal  and  contented 
people." 

Having  considered  other  points  of  expenditure  and 
the  woeful  poverty  of  the  people,  the  President  touched 
on  import  duties,  the  exchange  compensation  allowance, 
the  question  of  industries,  and  the  then  sitting  Royal 
Commission  to  enquire  into  Indian  expenditure.  He 
spoke  bitterly  of  the  exchision  of  Indians  from  the 
higher  branches  of  the  Services,  especially  the  Army, 
"  this  ostracism  of  a  whole  people,  "  and  quoted  Sir 
Henry  Lawrence :  "  If  Asiatics  and  Africans  can 
obtain  honourable  position  in  the  armies  of  Russia, 
and  France,  surely  Indians,  after  a  tried  service 
of  a  century  under  England's  banner,  are  entitled 
18 


210  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

to  the  same  boon,  nay,  justice."  He  reviewed 
many  other  matters  in  the  field  of  Indian  politics, 
and  urged  that  they  should  be  made  party  questions  in 
the  English  Parliament.  After  expressing  gratitude 
for  the  improvements  so  far  made,  the  President 
concluded  : 

Nevertheless  we  feel  that  much  yet  remains  to  be 
done,  and  the  impetus  must  come  from  Pjno-land.  To 
England  we  look  for  inspiration  and  guidance.  To 
England  we  look  for  sympathy  in  the  struggle.  From 
England  must  come  the  crowning  mandate  which  will 
enfranchise  our  peoples.  England  is  our  political  guide 
and  our  moral  preceptor  in  the  exalted  sphere  of  political 
duty.  English  history  has  taught  us  those  principles  of 
freedom  which  we  cherish  Math  our  life-blood.  We  have 
been  fed  upon  the  strong  food  of  English  constitutional 
freedom.  We  have  been  taught  to  admire  the  eloquence 
and  genius  of  the  great  masters  of  English  political 
philosophy.  We  have  been  brought  face  to  face  with  the 
struggles  and  the  triumphs  of  the  English  people  in  their 
stately  march  towards  constitutional  freedom.  Where 
will  you  find  better  models  of  courage,  devotion,  and 
sacrifice  ;  not  in  Rome,  not  in  Greece,  not  even  in  France 
in  the  stormy  days  of  the  Revolution — courage  tempered 
by  caution,  enthusiasm  leavened  by  sobriety,  partisanship 
softened  by  a  large-hearted  charity — all  subordinated  to  the 
one  pi'edominating  sense  of  love  of  country  and  love  of  God. 
.  .  .  The  noblest  heritage  which  we  can  leave  to  our  children 
and  our  children's  children  is  the  heritage  of  enlarged 
rights,  safeguarded  by  the  loyal  devotion  and  the  fervent 
enthusiasm  of  an  emancipated  people.  Let  us  so  work 
with  confidence  in  each  other,  with  unwavering  loyalty  to 
the  British  connection,  that  we  may  accomplish  this  great 
object  within  a  measurable  distance  of  time.  Then  will 
the  Congress  have  fulfilled  its  mission — justified  the  hopes 
of  those  who  founded  it,  and  who  worked  for  it — not, 
indeed,  by  the  supersession  of  British  rule  in  India,  but 
bv    broadening    its  basis,    liberalising  its  spirit,  ennoliling 


THE    ELEVENTH    CONCJREvSS  211 

its  character,  and  placing-  it  upon  the  unchangeable 
foundations  o£  a  nation's  affections.  It  is  not  severance 
that  we  look  forward  to — but  unification,  permanent 
embodiment  as  an  ii:itegral  part  of  that  great  Empire 
which  has  given  the  rest  of  the  world  the  models 
of  free  institutions — that  is  what  we  aim  at.  But  per- 
manence means  assimilation,  incorporation,  equal 
rights,  equal  privileges.  Permanence  is  incompatible 
with  any  form  of  military  despotism,  which  is  a  temporary 
makeshift  adapted  to  a  temporary  purpose.  England  is 
the  august  mother  of  free  Nations.  Slie  has  covered  the 
world  with  free  States.  Places,  hitherto  the  chosen  abode 
of  barbarism,  are  now  the  home  of  freedom.  Wherever 
floats  the  flag  of  Pjngland,  there  free  (xovernments  have 
been  established.  We  ajipeal  to  England  gradually  to 
change  the  character  of  her  rule  in  India,  to  liberalise  it, 
to  shift  its  foundations,  to  adapt  it  to  the  newly-developed 
enviroianents  of  the  country  and  the  people,  so  that,  in 
the  fulness  of  time,  India  may  find  its  place  in  the  great 
confederacy  of  free  States,  English  in  their  origin,  English 
in  their  character,  English  in  their  institutions,  rejoicing 
in  their  pei-manent  and  indissoluble  union  with  England, 
a  glory  to  the  mother-country,  and  an  honour  to  the 
human  race.  Then  will  England  have  fulfilled  her  great 
mission  in  the  East,  accomplished  her  high  destiny  among 
Nations,  repaid  the  long-standing  debt  which  the  West 
owes  to  the  East,  and  covered  herself  with  imperishal)le 
renown  and  everlasting  glory. 

The  speecli  was  an  e.xceptionally  tine  one,  both  for 
matter  and  manner,  keeping  throughout  a  high  level 
of  sustained  eloquence,  and  it  was  enthusiastically 
cheered.  The  Subjects  Committee  was  approved,  and 
the  Congress  adjoui'ned. 

On  the  second  day,  Mr.  Ghosal  moved,  and 
Mr.  Jaishi  Ram  seconded  Resolution  I,  which  ordered 
that  the  draft  rules  framed  l)y  the  Poona  Council 
should    he    circulated,    with    instructions   to  i-eport  to 


212  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

the  General  Secretary  and  Standing  Counsel  three 
months  before  the  next  Congress,  and  it  was  carried 
unanimously. 

Mr.  Baikunthanath  Sen  moved  Kesolution  II,  stating 
the  opinion  that  the  enquiry  on  Expenditure  could  not 
be  satisfactory  unless  evidence  were  given  other  than 
official  and  Anglo-Indian,  The  value  of  the  Commis- 
sion did  not  lie  in  tlie  examining  of  accounts,  but  in 
an  enquiry  into  the  policy,  which  was  at  the  root  of  the 
expenditure.  This  view  was  supported  by  the 
seconder,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Jambulingam  Mudaliar,  who 
pointed  out  that  enquiry  should  be  made  into  the 
enormous  Home  (Foreign)  Charges,  and  the  purchase 
of  all  stores  in  England,  instead  of  developing 
manufactures  here ;  also  into  the  trans-frontier 
warfare  and  the  scientific  boundary  search.  Why 
should  the  enquiry  be  heard  in  camera,  like  an 
indecent  divorce  suit  ?  there  was  nothing  private 
about  it.  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  spoke  of  the 
joy  with  which  India  had  welcomed  direct  Govern- 
ment by  the  Crown,  believing  that  the  transfer  meant 
a  share  in  free  institutions  and  an  improvement  of 
the  condition  of  the  people.  But  the  bureaucracy 
which  ruled  them  forced  them  to  doubt  if  they  were 
right  in  their  joy.  Far  more  attention  was  paid  to 
India,  thei-e  was  a  keener  desire  to  see  that  no 
injustice  was  done,  and  the  interests  of  the  people 
were  mcn-e  considered,  before  the  Crown  took  over  the 
Government.  When  the  East  India  Company  applied 
for  the  renewal  of  their  charter  every  20  years, 
a     Parliamentary     Committee     enquired     into     their 


THE    ELEVENTH    CONGRESS  213 

administration  and  reforms  were  made.  But  since  the 
Crown  took  things  over,  there  had  been  no  such 
enquir3^     They  said  to  England  : 

If  you  do  not  think  us  fit  to  govern  ourselves  ;  if  you 
think  we  cannot  understand  our  own  finances,  and  say  what 
we  can  and  what  we  cannot  spend,  considering  what  our 
means  are  ;  if  you  think  you  are  better  judges  of  it,  pray 
devote  a  little  time  and  attention  to  the  consideration  of 
these  matters.  If  you  cannot  find  time  to  do  so,  permit  us, 
pray,  to  do  it.  Why  make  us  suffer  by  reason  of  your 
inability  to  attend  to  our  concerns,  and  by  preventing 
us  from  attending  to  them,  from  doing  what  we  are  most 
anxious  to  do,  not  only  in  our  own  interests  Init  in  the 
interests  of  the  Government  as  well  P 

The  eloquent  speaker  concluded  : 

I  ask  English  gentlemen,  I  ask  the  people  of  fhigland, 
to  seriously  consider  the  position  in  which  India  is  placed. 
That  position  is  simply  this.  Educated  Indians, 
repi'esenting  the  cultured  intelligence  of  the  countrj', 
have  been  praying  for  an  enquiry,  a  full  and  fair  enquiry, 
into  the  administration  of  this  country  during  the  last 
fort\'  years.  We  have  impeached  that  administration  on 
almost  every  conceivable  ground.  We  charge  the 
Government  of  England,  with  having  saddled  us  with  an 
unnecessarily  costly  expenditure  on  the  Civil  Service  of 
India  ;  we  charge  them  with  having  forced  upon  us  a 
crushingly  heavy  military  expenditure  ;  we  charge  them 
with  indulging  in  a  great  Avaste  of  India's  money  beyond 
the  borders  of  India  ;  we  charge  them  with  Avant  of 
fairness  in  their  dealings  Avith  India  in  the  matter  of 
the  Home  Charges  ;  nay  more,  we  charge  them — the 
Government  of  India,  the  GoAernment  of  England  and 
the  people  of  England  with  them — with  being  responsible, 
by  reason  of  their  neglect  to  adequately  perform  their 
duty  towards  India,  for  the  loss  of  millions  of  liA^es  Avhich 
are  lost  in  eA^ery  decade  from  starvation,  largely  the 
result     of     OA-er-taxation     and    inefficient    administration. 


214  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

We  charge  the   people  of   England,    because  as  some  one 
has  said, 

Hear  him,  ye  senates,  liear  tliis  trutli  sublime, 
He  who  allows  oppression  shares  the  crime. 

If  the  English  Parliament,  if  the  people  of  England, 
who  have  solemnly  taken  upon  themselves  the  duty  of 
governing  India,  by  reason  of  their  neglect  to  do  that 
duty  properly,  allow  any  loss  of  life  to  occur  in  India 
Avhich  they  could  prevent,  they  are  surely  answerable  be- 
fore God  and  man  for  that  loss  of  life.  In  the  face  of 
such  an  impeachment,  does  it  become  the  great  English 
people  and  the  English  Parliament  to  give  us  a  lame 
Commission,  to  enquire  imperfectly  into  one  bi'anch  only 
of  this  administration  ?  Would  it  not  become  them  rather 
to  stand  up,  like  true  Englishmen,  and  say:  "  We  shall 
face  all  these  various  charges,  and  either  prove  them  to  be 
untrue,  or  admit  that  they  are  true  and  make  amends  for 
them."  The  charges  are  not  of  a  light  nature  nor  are 
they  lightly  made,  and  if  the  English  people  do  not  care 
to  enquire  into  them  in  the  interests  of  their  Empire,  if 
they  care  not  to  do  so  in  the  interests  of  suffering 
humanity,  if  they  do  it  not,  even  as  a  matter  of  duty,  let 
them  do  it  at  least  for  the  sake  of  the  honour  of  England, 
which,  I  liope  and  trust,  is  still  dear  to  every 
Englishman. 

The  Resolution  was  then  carried. 

Finance  was  still  to  the  fore,  and  Resolution  III 
dealt  with  Civil  and  Military  expenditure.  If  the 
Commission  would  not  go  into  policy,  the  Congress 
would,  and  Mr.  Waclia  pointed  out  that  Sir 
James  Westland  had  seriously  misrepresented  the 
facts  by  saying  that  the  increase  was  due  to  the  ex- 
change, and  that  General  Sir  Henry  Brackenbury  had 
joined  him  by  saying  that,  out  of  62  lakhs  of  increase, 
57.^    were    due  to    the    fall  in  exchange.     Mr.  Wacha 


THE    ELEVENTH    CONGRESS  215 

gave  the  official  figures,  proving  the  inaccuracy  of 
the  statement  beyond  possibility  of  dispute.' 

Munshi  Shaik  Hussain  seconded,  Mr.  S.  K.  Nair 
and  Dr.  K.  N.  Bahadurji  supported,  and  The  Resolu- 
tion was  carried  unanimously. 

Resolution  IV,  the  perennial  separation  of  Judicial 
and  Executive  functions,  was  moved,  this  year  by 
Mr.  Mano  Mohan  Grhose.  He  added  to  the  arsenal  a 
statement  by  Mr,  James,  a  Commissioner,  in  which  he 
said  that  the  union  was  "  the  mainstay  of  the  British 
power  in  India " — a  sorry  confession.  The  Hon. 
Mr.  C.  Setalwad  seconded,  four  other  delegates 
supported,  and  it  was  carried. 

Mr.  W.  C.  Bannerji,  in  proposing  the  extension  of 
the  Jury  system  (Resolution  V),  made  a  new  point  in 
urging  that  a  judge,  translating  in  his  mind  the 
vernacular  of  a  rustic  witness,  was  too  engrossed  with 
the  language  to  properly  attend  to  the  witness ; 
Indian  jurymen,  understanding  the  language,  would 
watch  the  demeanour  of  witnesses  and  would  distin- 
guish truthful  speech  from  false.  He  feared  that  the 
strange  changes  which  were  being  introduced  into 
criminal  procedure  would  shake  the  faith  of  the  people 
in  the  administration  of  justice.  Mr.  Venkatasubba. 
Iyer  seconded,  and  Mr.  Venkatrao  Gutikar,  in  sup- 
porting, pointed  to  the  practical  identity  between  the 
Panchayat  and  the  Jury,  and  the  Marathi  proverb  : 
"  The  Five  are  the  Voice  of  God."  Sir  Thomas  Munro, 
in  1825,  noted  that  the  jury  system  was  likely  to  suc- 
ceed in  India,  because  the  Indians  were  accustomed 
to  sit  on  Panchayats,  and  were  "  in  general  sufficiently 


216  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

expert  in  examining  and    weighing    evidence  ".     The 
Resolution  was  carried,  after  three  more  speeches. 

Mr.  Seymour  Keay,  in  an  able  and  fiery  speech, 
moved  Resolution  VI,  on  the  gagging  of  the  Press  at 
the  will  of  the  Resident  in  Indian  States  (see  Noti- 
fication in  Chapter  X).  In  the  State  of  Hyderabad 
several  presses  had  been  ruined,  and  in  that  State, 
bigger  than  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland,  there  was  "  not  even  a  rag  of  an  English 
newspaper  published  ".  Mr.  Ramachandra  Pillai 
from  Secunderabad  seconded,  and  Mr.  V.  V.  Modak 
spoke  of  Avhat  had  occurred  in  Mysore,  and  Mr.  A.  L. 
Desai  in  Kathiawar.     The  Resokition  was  passed. 

Mr.  Kalicharan  Bannerji,  with  great  courage, 
brought  up  Simultaneous  Examinations  once  again 
(Resolution  VII),  complaining  that  the  deafness  of  the 
■Government  reminded  him  of  the  Bengali  bogey, 
^'  khaun  khutla,"  the  cutter  off  of  ears,  only  it 
was  the  Government  whose  ears  were  cut  off.  Three 
•other  speakers  foHowed  and  the  Resolution  Avas  passed. 

The  last  Resolution  on  this  day  was  the  eighth, 
declaring  that  if  England  continued  to  use  Indians 
in  trans-frontier  expeditions  England  should  share 
the  expense.  This  indubitably  just  proposal  was 
moved  by  Mr.  H.  A.  Wadia,  in  a  ver}^  vigorous  and 
sensible  speech,  condemning  the  "forward  polic}'" 
■advocated  by  Lord  Roberts,  Mr.  Curzon  and  the 
brothers  Younghusband.  It  was  evil  in  policy  and 
illegal  in  practice,  for  no  right  existed  to  use  Her 
Majesty's  forces  beyond  the  frontiers,  without  the 
sancrion    of     Parliament.      Asia     Avas    SAvept    off    the 


THE    ELEVENTH    CONGRESS  217 

surface  of  the  globe,  and  Europe  was  advancing  North 
and  South  and  East ;  "all  that  remains  of  the  liv^ing 
Orient  "  was  contained  in  Japan  ;  Russia  and  France 
threatened  England  in  India !  Mr.  D.  G.  Padliye 
seconded,  Mr.  W.  A.  Chambers  supported,  and  with 
the  passing  of  the  Resolution,  and  a  telegram  to 
Mr.  Gladstone  on  his  87th  birthday,  the  Congress 
adjourned  to    December   30. 

The  opening  of  the  Congress  on  the  third  day  was 
particularly  interesting  in  view  of  subsequent  events, 
for  it  asked  the  British  to  protect  the  Indians  in  South 
Africa,  and  Mr.  G.  Parameshvaram  Pillai  dealt 
specially  with  the  disabilities  imposed  on  them  in  the 
South  African  Republic — then  existing.  Mr.  Ali 
Muhammad  Bhimji  asked  if,  in  view  of  Her  Majesty's 
Proclamation,  it  could  be  contended  that  the  competi- 
tion of  coloured  traders  with  white  ones  was  to  be  stop- 
ped by  disqualifying  the  former  ?  Mr.  J.  M.  Samant 
declared  that  the  Act  disfranchising  Indians  in  South 
Africa  v/as  an  insult  to  the  whole  Nation,  but  that  the 
only  hope  of  redress  lay  in  appealing  to  English- 
men in  England,  "whose  sense  of  Justice  is  not 
perverted  and  not  contaminated  by  the  slavery- 
producing  atmosphere  of  Africa,  or  the  tyranny- 
producing  atmosphere  of  India".  Mr.  Vithal  Lax- 
man  complained  that  while  Englishmen  kept  the 
peace  in  territories  subject  to  them,  "  their  idea  of 
justice  becomes  changed  and  one-sided.  .  .  when 
the  question  of  race  comes,  justice  is  set  aside 
or  is  at  least  one-sided  ".  The  Resolution  was 
carried. 


218  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Tile  tenth  Resolution,  moved  by  Mr.  R.  N.  Mudhol- 
kar,  dealt  with  ag-ricultural  indebtedness,  and  urged 
that  measures  should  be  taken  to  lessen  this  indebted- 
ness without  depriving  the  ryot  of  his  right  to  dispose 
of  land  if  he  chose.  Mr.  R.  P.  Karandikar  dealt 
specially  with  the  rigidity  of  the  revenue  system. 
The  Resolution  was  carried. 

Then  followed  Mr.  V.  R.  Natu  with  Resolution  XI, 
which  asked  that  members,  in  making  interpellations, 
might  be  allowed  to  preface  a  question  with  a  short 
explanation,  and  the  proposal  Avas  seconded  by 
Mr.  N.  V.  Gokhale,  supported  by  Mr.  P.  S.  Siva- 
swami  Aiyar,  and  carried. 

Resolution  XII  was  on  the  Medical  Service,  and 
was  again  introduced  by  Dr.  K.  N.  Bahadurji,  and 
as  readers  do  not  need  as  much  repetition  as  is 
necessary  for  Grovernments,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that 
it  was  seconded  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  B.  G.  Tilak — 
whose  speech,  being  in  Marathi,  is  not  reported — 
supported  by  three  other  delegates,  and  carried. 

Resolution  XIII,  on  the  danger  of  the  method 
proposed  by  Government  for  suppressing  law- 
touts,  was  moved  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  N.  Subbarau 
Pantulu,  seconded  by  Rai  Jotindranath  Choudhuri, 
supported    by   Mr.  M.  V.   Joslii   and  two  others,  and 


Mr.  M.  N.  Samarth  moved  Resolution  XIV,  on 
fixity  of  land  tenure,  and  ably  summarised  the 
arguments  of  an  immense  question  in  the  very 
short  time  at  his  disposal.  Mr.  G.  Venkataratnam 
seconded,  and  Mr.    1:5.  G.  Tilak  and  anotlier  supported. 


THE    ELEVENTH    CONGRESS  219 

Mr.  Pandurang  Bapnji,  an  agriculturist  from  Berar, 
made  a  poignant  speech,  telling  how  the  ryots  of  his 
Province  lived ;  the  Survey  officer  reported  they 
were  happy,  and  though  a  few  District  officers,  to 
their  honour,  reported  against  the  proposal,  the 
assessment  was  raised.    He  said  : 

1  give  the  following  infornuition  from  the  Berar 
Revenue  Report  for  the  year  1894-95.  Out  of  the  entire 
Berar  soil  nearly  77  lakhs  of  acres  are  brought  under 
cultivation.  Population  of  Berar  is  about  2b'  lakhs  and  a 
half.  Two  acres  and  a  half,  therefore,  of  the  land  under 
cultivation,  are  used  up  by  each  individual.  Javaree  and 
cotton  are  the  common  crops.  These  two  crops  find  place 
in  sixty-eight  out  of  a  hundred  acres  of  land  under 
cultivation.  During  the  year  under  report,  one  acre 
yielded  107  seers  of  javaree.  The  same  area  produced 
44  seei's  of  cotton.  In  the  market  javaree  was  selling  at 
21^  seers  per  rupee,  while  cotton  was  selling  at  9  seers  a 
rupee.  It  is  thus  clear  that  the  entire  produce  of  the  2i 
acres  of  land  which  could  be  appropriated  bj  a  single 
individual  was  worth  about  I2i  rupees.  Now  the  total 
amount  of  land-revenue  in  Berar  is  a  little  above  72  lakhs 
of  rupees.  Each  individual  has  thus  to  pav  to  the 
Government  about  Rs.  2-8-0.  Deducting  this  amount 
from  the  value  of  the  produce  at  his  command,  he  finds 
only  10  rupees,  out  of  which  he  has  still  to  defray  the 
expenses  incident  to  cultivation.  Tin's  mode  of  looking  at 
things  gives  us  an  idea  of  how  the  cultivator  lives.  Upon 
the  trash  of  some  7  or  8  silver  pieces  he  is  doomed  to  live 
One  long  year,  shifting  as  best  he  can,  thi'ough  varied 
seasons,  and  battling  with  risks  and  dangers  that  human 
life  is  liable  to  meet  with.  It  is  better  to  imagine  than 
realise  the  keen  pain  and  anguish  which  is  the  lot  of  the 
cultivating  classes.  This  situation  is  not  a  whit  altered. 
It  is  the  same  all  the  years  of  their  life.  80  per  cent  of 
the  Berar  population  live  upon  the  soil.  I  ask  you,  ladies 
and  gentlemen,  whether  you  really  think,  with  these  facts 
before  you,  that  the  Berar  people  are  liappy  and  wealthy! 


220  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Are  they  not  steeped,  over  head  and  ears,  in  deep 
misery  and  woe  ?  The  Government  expends  annually 
between  40  and  50  rupees  on  account  of  the  maintenance 
of  a  single  convict.  The  lawless  and  most  dano-erous 
foes  of  human  peace  and  safety  are  circumstanced  five 
times  better  than  the  peace-loving  and  law-abiding  sub- 
jects. It  is  strange  how  such  a  state  of  things  can 
be  tolerated  by  the  benign  and  most  impartial  British 
Government.  Now,  these  observations  apply  to  the 
state  of  things  as  it  once  existed,  while  the  old 
assessment  rates  were  in  force.  I  leave  it,  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  to  you  to  conceive  how  cheerfully  the 
contemplation  of  enhancement  on  the  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment would  he  welcome  to  the  impoverished  ryot  ! 

Mr.  Bhagiratli  Prasad^  from  the  Central  Provinces, 
further  supported,  and  the  Resolution  was  passed. 

The  same  gentleman  moved  Resolution  XV,  pix)- 
testing  against  the  retrograde ])olicy  of  tlie  Government 
in  ii(>minating  a  member  for  the  C.  P.  to  the  Supreme 
Council  without  any  consultation  with  the  Provinces 
he  was  supposed  to  represent.  '^Die  Resolution  was 
seconded  and  carried. 

Resolution  XVI,  against  the  Exchange  Compensa- 
tion, was  moved  by  Mr.  Ambikacharan  Mozumdar  in  a 
characteristically  fine  speech  ;  he  concluded  by  saying 
that  "there  ought  to  be  reason  in  all  things — even  in 
the  administration  of  India,"  and  that  "  if  from  Pay  to 
Pension,  from  Pension  to  Compensation,  is  to  be  the 
established  order  of  financial  progress  of  the  Govern- 
ment, all  tliat  we  Indians  can  say  is,  call  it  by 
any  name  you  please,  our  legal  pliraseology  has  but 
one  expression  for  it :  it  is  illegal  gratification ". 
Mr.  A.  C.  Parthasarathi  seconded  and,  after  two  other 
speeches,  the  Resolution  was  carried. 


THE    ELEVENTH    CONGEESS  221 

Resolution  XYII  thanked  the  Government  for 
recognising  the  grievances  of  third  class  railway 
passengers,  and  asked  them  to  proceed  from  recogni- 
tion to  redress.  Resolution  XVIII  repeated  the 
protest  against  Forest  Grievances,  and  XIX  was 
against  the  Salt  Tax.  Professor  G.  K.  Gokhale, 
in  moving,  compared  the  prosperous  Manchester 
merchant  with 

the  starving,  shrunken,  shrivelled  up  Indian  ryot,  toil- 
ing and  moiling  from  dawn  to  dark  to  earn  his  scanty 
meal,  patient,  resigned,  forbearing  beyond  measui-e, 
entirely  voiceless  in  the  Parliament  of  his  rulers,  and 
meekly  prepared  to  bear  whatever  burdens  God  and  man 
might  be  pleased  to  impose  upon  his  back. 

Mr.  A.  D.  Upadhye  seconded,  saying  that  while 
they  conld  do,  at  a  pinch,  without  cloth  or  hut,  they 
could  not  do  without  salt ;  a  basket  of  salt  which 
cost  1  pice  (jth  of  an  anna,  or  of  a  penny)  cost  Saunas 
in  British  India.  "  What  enormous  crime  have  we 
committed  that  all  should  be  put  to  this  unbearable 
punishment  of  going  without  enough  salt  from  year's 
end  to  year's  end  ?  "  he  concluded. 

The  twentieth  Resolution  was  on  Education,  repeat- 
ing previous  demands  and  was  carried.  The  twenty- 
first,  supporting  import  duties  on  cotton,  was  moved  by 
Mr.  Wacha,  "  the  fire-brand  of  Bombay,"  speaking  out 
of  full  knowledge,  seconded  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  P. 
Ananda  Charlu  in  three  sentences,  and  supported  by 
Mr.  Tulsi  Ram,  representing  the  hand-weavers  of 
Madura,  and  by  one  other  speaker,  and  carried. 

The  Omnibus  (No.  XXII)  was  driven  this 
year    by    Mr.  Ali    Muhammad    Bhimji,  seconded   by 


222  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Mr.  N.  M.  Samarth,  and  supported  by  Rai  Sangavani, 
who  said  he  was  an  orthodox  Hindu  devotee,  retired 
from  the  world,  but  he  oif ered  up  to  God  "  a  meek  and 
suppliant  lieart,  devoted  to  the  interests  of  my  country 
and  to  the  salvation  of  my  race  ".  Verily,  a  devotee  of 
the  ancient  type,  "  intent  upon  the  welfare  of  the 
world  ".  (3thers  supported,  and  the  Resolution  was 
carried. 

The  liour  was  late,  and  Resolutions  XXIII  to  XXVI 
were  rushed  through,  passing  the  grant  to  the  British 
Committee,  thanking  it,  appointing  Mr.  A.  0.  Hume 
and  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  as  General  Secretary  and 
Joint  General  Secretary — the  omission  of  this  last 
officer  in  the  previous  year  had  not  worked  well — 
and  fixing  Calcutta  for  the  meeting  of  the  Congress 
in  1896. 

A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Chair,  and  a  few  eloquent 
words  from  the  President — especially  urging  the 
young  to  carry  on  the  work  to  "  be  entrusted  to  your 
care  and  to  your  keeping  ^' — closed  the  meeting,  and 
the  Eleventli  Congress  rose. 

RESOLUTIONS 

Congress  Constitution 

1.  Resolved — That  the  (h-aft  rules  in  regard  to  tlie  constitution 
and  working  of  the  Indian  National  Congress,  as  framed  by  the 
Foona  Congress  Committee  in  accordance  with  the  resolution,  in 
that  behalf,  of  the  last  Congress,  be  circulated  by  the  Poona  Com- 
mittee to  all  the  Standing  Congress  Coniinittees,  with  instructions 
to  report  to  the  General  Secretary  and  the  Standing  Counsel  at 
least  three  months  before  the  next  Congress. 

Finance 

n.  Resolved-That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  en- 
(piirv  by  tli(!  Kxpenditure  (Joniuiissiou  will  not  he  satisfHCtory  to  the 


THE    ELEVKNTH    CONGRESS  223 

people  of  this  country,  nor  be  of  any  practical  advantage  to  the; 
Government,  unless  the  lines  of  jjolicy  which  regulate  exijenditure 
are  enquired  into,  and  unless  facilities  are  afforded  and  arrange- 
ments made  for  receiving  evidence  other  than  official  and  Anglo- 
Indian.  And  this  Congress  also  feels  that  the  enquiry  would,  in  all 
probability,  yield  better  results,  if  the  proceedings  were  conducted 
with  open  doors. 

III.  Resolved— That  this  Congress  again  records  its  hrm 
conviction  that  in  view  of  the  embarrassed  condition  of  the  finances 
of  the  country,  the  onlj'  remedy  for  the  present  state  of  things  is  a 
material  curtailment  in  the  expenditure  on  the  Army  Sei-vices  and 
other  military  expenditure.  Home  Charges  and  the  cost  of  Civil 
Administration  ;  and  it  notices  with  satisfaction  that  expert  opinion 
in  England  has  now  come  over  to  the  view  of  the  Indian  Parlia- 
mentary Committee  that  growth  in  military  expenditure  is  a  more 
potent  cause  of  Indian  financial  embarrassment  than  the  condition 
of  exchange. 

VIII.  Resolved— That  in  view  of  the  great  extensions  of  the 
British  power  on  the  North-West  and  North-East  of  the  proper 
frontiers  of  India  into  regions  not  contemplated  by  Parliament  when 
it  passed  Section  56  of  the  Government  of  India  Act,  the  Congress 
is  of  opinion  that  over  and  above  the  sanction  of  Parliament  neces- 
sary before  the  revenue  and  forces  of  India  are  employed  outside 
the  frontiers  of  India,  the  interests  of  India  absolutely  demand  that 
the  expenses  of  all  such  expeditions  should  be  shared  between 
England  and  India.  Without  some  such  additional  guarantee,  the 
forward  Military  policy  will  involve  India  in  hopeless  financial 
confusion. 

Legal 

IV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  again  appeals  to  the 
Government  of  India  and  the  Secretary  of  State  to  take  practical 
steps  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  separation  of  Judicial  from 
Executive  functions  in  the  administration  of  justice. 

V.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  views  with  alarm  the  con- 
stant changes  that  are  being  made  and  threatened  on  the  subject  of 
trial  by  Jury  in  this  Country,  and,  regard  being  had  to  the  fact  that 
no  demand  for  any  such  change  has  been  made  by  any  portion  of 
the  population  of  British  India,  trtists  that  the  Bill  now  before  the 
Supreme  Legislative  Council  on  the  subject  will  not  be  further 
proceeded  with  ;  and  this  Congress,  reaffirming  resolutions  passed  by 
former  Congresses,  also  trusts  that  trials  by  Jury  will  be  extended 
to  districts  and  offences  to  which  the  system  at  present  does  not 
apply  and  that  their  verdicts  should  be  final. 


224  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Coercion  of  the  Press 

VI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  being'  of  opinion  that  the 
Government  of  India  Notification  of  25th  Jane,  1891,  in  the  Foreign 
Department,  gagging  the  Press  in  territories  under  British  adminis- 
tration in  Native  States,  is  retrograde,  arbitrary  and  mischievous  in 
its  nature  and  opposed  to  sound  statesmanship  and  to  the  liberty  of 
the  people,  again  enters  its  emphatic  protest  against  the  same  and 
ui'ges  its  cancellation  without  delay. 

Public   Service 

VII.  Resolved — That  tliis  Congress,  concurring  with  previous 
Congresses,  again  records  its  deep  regret  that  the  labours  of  the 
Public  Service  Commission  have  practically  proved  void  of  any  good 
results  to  the  people  of  this  country,  and  repeats  its  conviction  that 
no  satisfactory  solution  of  the  question  is  possible,  unless  effect  is 
given  to  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  June,  1893, 
in  favour  of  holding  the  competitive  examinations  for  the  Indian 
Civil  Services  simultaneously^  in  India  and  England. 

South  Africa 

IX.  Resolved — That  the  Congi-ess  deems  it  necessary  to  record 
its  most  solemn  protest  against  the  disabilities  sought  to  be  imposed 
on  Indian  settlers  in  South  Africa,  and  it  earnestly  hopes  that  the 
British  Government  ajid  the  Government  of  India  will  come  for- 
ward to  guard  the  interests  of  these  settlers  in  the  same  spirit  in 
which  they  have  always  interfered,  whenever  the  interests  of  their 
British-born  subjects  have  been  at  stake. 

Land  Tenure 

X.  Resolved — That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  any  pro- 
posal to  restrict  the  right  of  private  alienation  of  lands  by  legisla- 
tion as  a  remedj'  for  the  relief  of  agricultural  indebtedness  will  be 
a  most  retrograde  measui-e,  and  will,  in  its  distant  consequences,  not 
only  check  improvement  but  reduce  the  agricultural  pepulation  to  a 
t-ondition  of  still  greater  helplessness.  The  indebtedness  of  the 
agriculturist  classes  arises  partly  from  their  ignorance  and  partly 
fi-om  tlic  application  of  a  too  rigid  system  of  fixed  revenue  assess- 
ments which  takes  little  account  of  tiie  fluctuating  conditions  of 
aTiculture  in  many  parts  of  India ;  and  the  true  remedy  must  be 
souglit  in  the  spread  of  general  education  and  a  relaxation  of  the 
ri"-idity  of  the  present  system  of  revenue  collections  in  those  parts 
of  the  country  where  the  Permanent  Settlement  does  not  obtain. 

XIV.  Resolved — That  this  Congresses  express  its  firm  conviction 
tliat  in  the  interests  of  the  country  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that 
there  should  be  greater  fixity  in  the  tcTiure  on  which  land  is  held  in 
the    temijorarily    settled    districts    than  exist.s   at  present,  and    that 


THE    ELEVENTH    CONGRESS  225 

Government  should  impose  on  its  own  action  restrictions  against 
enhancement  or  assessment  similar  to  those  which  it  has  deemed 
necessary  in  the  interests  of  tenants  to  impose  upon  the  rights  of 
private  landlords  in  permanently  settled  estates. 

Interpellation 

XI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  notes  with  satisfaction  that 
the  right  of  interpellation,  vested  in  non-official  members  of  the 
Legislative  Councils,  has,  on  the  whole  been  exercised  in  a  spirit  of 
moderation,  which  has  secured  the  approval  of  the  authorities  here 
and  in  England ;  and  the  Congress,  being  of  opinion  that  the 
practical  utility  of  interpellations  would  be  greatly  enhanced,  if  the 
members  putting  them  were  allowed  to  preface  their  questions  by  a 
short  explanation  of  the  reasons  for  them,  urges  that  the  right  to 
make  such  explanations  ought  to  be  granted. 

Medical  Service 

XII.  Resolved— 

(a)  That  this  Congress  notices  with  satisfaction  that  its  Wews 
in  regard  to  the  urgency  and  lines  of  reform  in  regard  to  the  condi- 
tion of  the  Civil  and  Military  Medical  Services  of  the  country  are 
being  endorsed  in  influential  Medical  and  Military  circles,  and'  that 
in  the  interests  of  the  public.  Medical  Science  and  the  profession  as 
also  in  the  cause  of  economic  administration  this  Congress  once 
again  affirms  (1)  that  there  should  be  only  one  Military  Medi- 
cal Service  with  two  branches,  one  for  the  European  army 
and  the  other  for  Native  troops,  worked  on  identical  lines  ■ 
(2)  that  the  Civil  Medical  Service  of  the  Country  should  be  recon- 
stituted a  distinct  and  independent  Medical  Service,  wholly  detach- 
ed from  its  present  Military  connection,  and  recruited  from  the 
open  profession  of  Medicine  in  India  and  elsewhere,  with  a  due 
leaning  to  the  utilisation  of  indigenous  talent,  other  things  being 
equal. 

(h)  That  this  Congress  further  affirms  that  the  status  and 
claims  of  Civil  Assistant  Surgeons  and  Hospital  Assistants  require 
thorough  and  open  enquiry  with  a  view  to  the  redressing  of  long 
standing  anomalies  and  consequent  grievances  ;  and  the  Congress 
notices  with  regret  that  in  their  recent  scheme  of  the  reorganisation 
of  the  Chemical  Analyser's  department,  the  oft-admitted  claims  of 
Assistant  Chemical  Analysers  have  been  apparently  overlooked  by 
Government. 

Legal  Practitioners 

XIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  while  fully  sympaithi'sing'' 
with  any  genuine  effort  which  the  Government  may  make  for  the 
supi^ression   of   law-touts,  views  with  grave   alarm  those  provisions 

19 


226  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOE    FREEDOM 

of  the  Bill  to  amend  the  Legal  Practitioners'  Act,  now  pending  the 
consideration  of  the  Supreme  Legislative  Council,  which  propose  to 
invest  District  Judges  and  Revenue  Commissioners  with  tlie  power 
of  dismissing  legal  practitioners  and,  in  cases  coming  under  the  Act, 
to  throw  the  entire  burden  of  proving  their  innocence  iipon  the 
latter  ;  and  this  Congress,  being  of  opinion  that  the  provisions  of 
the  Bill  are  calculated  to  prejudicially  affect  tlie  independence  of 
the  Bar  and  to  lower  the  position  of  legal  practitioners  in  the  eyes 
of  the  public  without,  in  any  way,  helping  to  suppress  la w^ touts  or 
to  fiu'ther  the  ends  of  justice,  urges  that  it  shoiild  be  dropped. 

Bepresentation 

XV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  puts  on  record  its  emphatic 
protest  against  the  retrograde  policy  that  the  Government  of  India 
have  this  time  followed  in  nominating  a  gentleman  for  the  Central 
Provinces  to  the  Supreme  Legislative  Council  without  asking  Local 
Bodies  to  make  recommendations  for  such  nomination  and  earnestly 
hopes  that  Government  will  be  pleased  to  take  early  steps  to  give  to 
the  Central  Provinces  the  same  kind  of  representation  that  it  has 
already  granted  to  Bengal,  Madras,  Bombay  and  the  N.  W. 
Provinces. 

Exchange  Compensation 

XVI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  repeats  its  protest  of  the 
last  two  years  against  the  grant  of  Exchange  Compensation  allow- 
ance to  the  undomiciled  European  and  Eurasian  employees  of 
Government,  involving  now  an  annual  expenditure  of  over  a  crore 
and  a  half  of  rupees. 

Third  Class  Passengers 

XVII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  while  thanking  the 
Government  of  India  for  recognising  the  grievances  of  third  class 
Railway  Pas.sengers,  from  whom  the  largest  portion  of  railway 
revenue  is  derived,  in  their  recent  I'esolutions  on  the  subject,  desires 
to  express  its  hope  that  Government  will  take  effective  steps  to 
bring  about  an  early  redress  of  those  grievances. 

Forest  Administration 

XVIII.  Resolved — That  tliis  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
action  of  the  Forest  Deiiartmont,  under  the  rules  framed  by  the 
different  Provincial  Governments,  prejudicially  aifects  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  rural  ])arts  of  the  country  by  subjecting  them  to  the 
annoyance  and  oppression  of  forest  subordinates  in  ^-arious  ways, 
which  have  led  to  much  discontent  throughout  the  country.  The 
objects  of  forest  conservancy,  as  announced  in  the  resolution  of 
1894,  are    declared    to  be  not  to   secure  the    largest   revenue  but  to 

.conserve  the  forests  to  tlie  interest  chiefly  of  the  agricultural  classes 


THE    ELKVENTH    CONGRESS  227 

and  of  their  cattle.  The  existing  set  of  rules  subordinate  the  latter 
consideration  to  the  former  and  an  amendment  of  the  rules  with  a 
view  to  correct  this  mischief  is,  iu  the  opinion  of  the  Congress, 
urgently  called  for. 

Thanks  of  Congress 

XIX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  tenders  its  thanks  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  India  for  his  promise  of  September  last  to 
take  an  early  opportunity  to  reduce  the  Salt  Duty,  and,  concurring 
with  previous  Congresses,  once  more  places  on  record  its  sense  of  the 
great  hardship  which  the  present  rate  of  salt  taxation  imposes  upon 
the  poorest  classes  of  the  country — a  hardship  which  renders  it 
incumbent  on  Government  to  take  the  first  opportunity  to  restore 
the  duty  to  its  level  of  1888. 

XXIV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  hereby  tenders  its  most 
grateful  thanks  to  Sir  W.  Wedderburn  and  the  other  members  of  the 
British  Congress  Committee  for  the  services  i-endered  by  them  to 
India  during  the  present  year. 

Education 

XX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  emphatically  of  ojiinion 
that  it  is  inexpedient  in  the  present  state  of  Education  in  tlie  countrv 
that  Government  grants  for  Higher  Education  should  in  any  way  be 
withdrawn,  or  that  fees  in  educational  institutions,  wholly  or  parti- 
ally supported  by  the  State,  should  be  increased,  and  concurring 
with  previous  Congresses,  affirms  in  the  most  emphatic  manner  the 
importance  of  increasing  public  expenditure  on  all  branches  of 
Education  and  the  expediency  of  establishing  Technical  Schools  and 
Colleges. 

Excise  Duty 

XXI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
objection  taken  by  Lancashire  Tuanufacturers  to  the  exeinption  of 
Indian  yarns  below  "  twenties  "  from  excise  duty  is  not  well-foiuided, 
and  triists  that  the  Government  of  India  will  stand  firm  in  its  policy 
of  levying  import  duties  for  revenue  purposes,  as  such  levy  does  not 
conflict  in  any  way  with  principles  of  free  trade. 

Confirmation  of  Previous  Resolutions 

XXII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  concurs  with  its  prede- 
cessoi's  in  strongly  advocating  :  (previous  (a)  comes  in  XIX  ;  previous 
(b)  (c)  (d)  are  repeated,  becoming  (a)  (b)  (c) ;  previous  (e)  is 
omitted  ;  previous  (f)  (g)  (h)  (i)  become  (d)  (e)  (f)  (g) ;  previous 
(j)  and  (k)  are  omitted;)  finally,  a  new  item  is  added: 

(h)  The  regulations  of  the  imposition  of  the  Water-cess  by 
certain  defined  principles  affording  security  to  the  rights  of  land- 
owners and  of  persons  investing  money  in  land. 


228  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Congress  Work 

XXTII.  Resolved— That  a  sum  of  Rs.  60,000  be  assigned  for 
the  expenses  of  the  British  Committee  and  the  cost  of  the  Congress 
publication,  hidia,  and  also  for  the  expenses  of  the  Joint-General 
Secretary's  office,  and  that  the  several  circles  do  contribute  as 
arranged,  either  now,  or  hereafter  in  Connnittee,  for  the  j^ear  1896. 

Formal 

XXV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  reappoints  Mr.  A.  0. 
Hume,  C.  B.,  to  be  its  General  Secretary,  and  appoints  Mr.  D.  E. 
Wacha  to  be  its  Joint  General  Secretary  for  the  ensuing  year. 

XXVI.  Resolved — That  the  Twelfth  Congress  do  assemble 
on  such  day  after  Christmas  Day,  1895,  as  may  be  later  determined 
upon,  at  Calcutta. 


CHAPTER  XII 

Calcutta  had  been  chosen  for  the  holding  of  the 
Twelfth  National  Congress,  and  it  opened  its  four  days' 
sitting  on  December  28th,  1896.  The  delegates 
numbered  790,  the  premier  place  being,  of  course, 
taken  by  the  Presidency  in  which  the  Congress  had 
its  temporary  home.  The  delegates  were  distributed 
as  follows  : 


Bengal  . . . 

605 

N.  W.  P.  an 

idbudh... 

60 

Pan  jab 

7 

C.  P.,  Berar, 

Secunderabad 

and 

Ri 

ijputana 

31 

Bombay 

52 

Madras . . . 

28 

London 

1 

784 


The  Congress  was  welcomed  by  Dr.  Rash  Behari 
Ghose,  for  the  President  of  the  Reception  Committee, 
Sir  Romesh  Chandra  Mitra,  was,  unfortunately,  too 
ill  to  be  present.  Dr.  Rash  Behari,  however,  read 
the  speech  which  Sir  Romesh  had  prepared, 
and  which  opened  with  the  expression  of  his 
belief  that,  despite  all  the  difficulties  surrounding 
their    Avork,     "  British     Justice    vivified     by     British 


230  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

magnanimity "   would   ensure    its     ultimate    triumph. 
Difficulties  of  Government  were  always  great ;   how 
much    greater    were    they   when     the    "  Government 
is     a     Government     by    foreigners,      alien     in     man- 
ners   and   customs,  sentiments    and    feelings    to    the 
subject    race ".     Hence   the   need    for   the    Congress, 
which     showed     the     Government     liow     India    was 
feeling :       '''  We  offer    help,    but    no   menace,    to  the 
Government."     He   regretted    the    hostility    and  the 
suspicion    of    many    of    the  ruling  body,  who  claimed 
to    know  their  thoughts  better  than  they  knew  them 
themselves.     As   to   the  absurd    statement   that    the 
Congress    did    not    represent  the  masses,  "  it  presup- 
poses   that    a   foreign   administrator  in  the  service  of 
the    Government   knows  more  about  the  wants  of  the 
masses    than    their    educated    countrymen  ".      In    all 
ages    it   had   been    true   "  that   those  who  think  must 
govern    those    who    toil,'^    and    could  it  be  "  believed 
that    this    natural    order  of  things  does  not  hold  good 
in  this   unfortunate  country  ?  "     The  masses  were  not 
familiar    with    western    methods,    and    the    educated 
Indians     alone    could    explain    these    to   them.       No 
foreigner   could  "  touch  the  inner  life  of  the  people  ". 
The   times    were    difficult.     The    land    was    suffering 
from     famine ;     "  Avhat    is    called    the    plague "    had 
appeared     in     Calcutta.       Famine     was    a    recurring 
trouble,    and    there    was    a   widespread   idea  that  the 
country   was  being  "  impoverished  by  excessive  taxa- 
tion   and  by  over-assessment  in  the  districts  that  are 
not    permanently    settled  ".     A  feeling  reference  was 
made  to  the  passing  away  of  Mr.  Mano  Molian  Ghose, 


THE    TWELFTH    CONGRESS  231 

and  a  few  words  of  deep  admiration  for  the  Queen- 
Empress,  who  had  just  overpassed  the  limits  of  any 
previous  reign,  closed  the  address. 

The  President  of  the  Congress,  the  Hon..  Mr. 
Muhammad  Rahimatullah  Sayani,  was  then  proposed 
by  the  Hon.  Pandit  Bishumbarnath,  seconded  by  the 
Hon.  Rao  Bahadur  P.  Ananda  Charlu,  and  elected 
with  enthasiasm. 

The  President  referred  to  the  origin  of  the  Con- 
gress as  due  to  the  fact  that  there  was  a  consensus  of 
opinion  amongst  educated  Indians  that  the  political 
condition  of  the  country  needed  vast  improvement, 
and  that  there  were  serious  grievances  and  disabilities 
to  be  removed  : 

They  keenly  felt  the  desire  for  wholesome  reform, 
and  discussed  with  freedom  and  candour  their  political 
condition,  which  they  considered  to  be  degrading.  Their 
intellectual  attainments  recoiled  against  what  they  con- 
sidered to  be  political  subservience  ;  their  educated 
notions  revolted  against  political  disabilities  ;  and  their 
hearts  aspired  to  attain  a  higher  National  ideal  of  citi- 
zenship under  the  beneficent  rule  of  the  British,  which 
they  highly  appreciated.  It  was  an  ideal  worthy  to  be 
encouraged  and  fostered  hy  all  right-minded  and 
justice-loving  Englishmen,  and  took  complete  hold  of 
them. 

He  then  analysed  the  declarations  of  the  Congress 
leaders,  noted  the  subjects  dealt  with  in  the  discus- 
sions, and  showed  how  from  the  Act  of  1813  onwards, 
England  had  recognised  the  duty  of  fostering  edu- 
cation in  India,  giving  extracts  to  prove  that  free 
institutions    were    promised,    and   that   the    Congress 


232  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

was  therefore  bound   to  win,  "  if   the  people   of  India 

are  true  to  themselves  ". 

In  fact,  a  more  honest  or  sturdy  Nation  does  not  exist 
under  the  sun  than  this  English  Nation  ;  and  there  ought 
to  be  no  doubt  whatever  as  to  the  ultimate  concession  of 
our  demands,  founded  as  such  demands  are  on  reason  and 
justice  on  the  one  hand,  as  on  the  declared  policy  and  the 
plighted  word  of  the  people  of  England  on  the  other. 

The  President  then  considered  the  views  of  Musal- 
mans  in  relation  to  the  Congress,  and  controverted 
their  objections,  and  then  proceeded  to  consider  the 
condition  of  India,  its  heavy  taxation,  contrasted  the 
differences  between  the  financial  treatment  of  Indians 
and  English,  and  quoted  many  passages  from  eminent 
Englishmen  to  show  the  poverty  and  over-taxation  of 
India,  the  ruinous  drain  upon  her  resources,  the  need 
for  change,  and  the  sad  results  financially  of  a  century 
of  British  rule.  He  then  proceeded  to  deal  with  the 
famine,  and  condemned  the  payment  of  the  land 
revenue  in  cash  as  having  a  pernicious  effect  on  the 
ryot,  whereas  payment  in  kind  always  left  him  food 
enough  for  himself  and  his  family.  He  pointed  out 
that  the  evidence  which  was  being  given  before  the 
Hoyal  Commission  on  Expenditure  justified  the 
position  taken  up,  but  complained  that  the  discussion 
of  budgets  in  Legislative  assemblies  was  purely  aca- 
demic, since  the  most  pungent  criticism  had  no  effect. 

The  President  concluded  with  a  few  words  on  the 
deaths  of  some  Congressmen  during  the  year,  and  on 
the  60  years  Jubilee  of  the  Queen-Empress  in  the 
coming  June.  The  Subjects  Committee,  as  elected, 
was  approved,  and  the  Congress  adjourned. 


THE    TWELFTH    CONGRESS  233 

The  first  Resolution  conveyed  the  congratulation 
and  hope  for  long  life  to  the  Queen-Empress,  moved 
by  the  Maharaja  of  Natore,  seconded  by  Prince 
Zaigam-ud-Dowlah,  supported  by  Sardar  Shrimant 
Shri  Yasudev  Rao  Harihvir,  and  carried  by  acclama- 
tion. Then  came  the  second  Resolution,  of  thanks 
to  Sir  William  Wedderburn  and  to  the  British 
Committee,  welcoming  to  the  Congress  its  delegate 
Mr.  W.  S.  Caine.  Mr.  Caine,  in  replying,  dealt  with 
the  Expenditure  Commission,  and  finance  in  India. 
Not  inappropriately  he  asked  the  Congress  Standing 
Committee  to  be  more  regular  in  its  payments  for  the 
support  of  the  work  in  England. 

Resolution  III  brought  up  the  separation  of  Judicial 
and  Executive  functions,  moved  by  Mr.  J.  P. 
Goodridge,  C.  S.,  seconded  by  Mr.  N.  N.  Ghose, 
supported  by  three  other  speakers,  and  carried. 

Resolution  IV  introduced  a  new  and  important 
question — the  proposal  to  give  greater  fiscal  responsi- 
bility to  the  Provincial  Governments,  only  a  fixed 
contribution  to  be  levied  by  the  Supreme  Government 
on  each.  It  was  moved  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Bal 
Gangadhar  Tilak  in  a  short  but  effective  speech,  in 
w^hich  he  described  the  arrangement  between  the 
Supreme  Government  and  the  Local  Governments  be- 
ing like  that  between  an  intemperate  husband  and  his 
wife,  that  when  the  first  had  indulged  all  his 
extravagant  habits,  he  asked  his  wife  to  surrender  all 
her  savings.  As  the  Congress  was  taking  up  the 
subject  for  the  first  time,  it  should  confine  itself 
to    the    main    principle,    limiting    the  power  of  the 


234  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Supreme  Government  to  draw  on  Provincial  re- 
sources to  a  fixed  amount,  levied  on  a  definite  and  just 
basis. 

Rai  Yatindranatli  Choudhuri  seconded,  and  dealt 
with  liis  own  Province,  Bengal,  showing  hoAV  unfair 
a  proportion  of  revenue  was  taken  by  the  »Supreme 
Grovernment,  and  how  every  five  years  it  appropriated 
the  Provincial  savings,  gained  by  careful  adminis- 
tration, thus  making  important  public  works  of  utility 
impossible  of  execution.  Mr.  G.  Parameshvaram  Pillai 
emphasised  the  hardships  of  the  system,  and  Pandit 
Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  urged  that  the  progress  and 
happiness  of  the  people  depended  far  more  on  good 
Provincial  administration  than  on  the  doings  of  the 
Supreme  Government,  and  that  the  former  Avas  sacri- 
ficed to  the  latter.  If  the  latter  appropriated  the 
funds  of  the  former,  it  should  also  assume  its  res- 
ponsibilities. He  showed  how  the  Government  of  his 
own  Province  was  crippled,  and  education,  specially, 
suffered.     The  Resolution  was  carried. 

After  this  excursion  into  the  new,  the  Congress 
returned  to  its  old  demand  for  Sinmltaneous  Ex- 
aminations in  Resolution  V,  and  not  even  Mr.  G. 
Subramania  Iyer,  the  mover,  could  find  new  arguments 
for  it.  Professor  D.  G.  Padhye  seconded  it,  and  two 
more  delegates  supported  it,  and  then  it  achieved  its 
annual  passing.  Even  now,  in  1915,  tliis  minute  con- 
cession remains  ungranted. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  A.  M.  Bose  proposed  Resolution  VI, 
which  was,  as  he  said,  l>rand-new,  for  it  protested 
against    the    new    injustice    just    perpetrated    in    the 


THE    TWELFTH    CONGRESS  235 

scheme   for  re-organising  the  Educational  Service,  as 
being   calculated    to  exclude  Indians  from  the  higher 
grades  of  that    Service.     It   would  be  an  astounding 
thing,  were  we   not   so  habituated  to  it,  that  Indians 
should   be    systemically   kept    out    of  the  higher  and 
better    paid    positions    in    their  own  cuuntry,  and  that 
this  should    be  done  as  a  matter  of  course.     Mr.  Bose 
asked   indignantly   if   the  cause  of   progress  in  India 
was   "  not   only   not   to   advance  but  to  be  put  back  ? 
Is  the  future  to  be  worse  than  the  past  ?  "  The  scheme, 
dealt  Avith    for  the     first   time,  divided   the   superior 
Educational  Service  into  two — the  higher,  the  Indian 
Educational  Service  to  be  filled  by  persons   appointed 
in  England,  and  the  lower,  the   Provincial  E.  S.  to  be 
filled  in  India.     Before  1880,  in  Bengal,  both  Indians 
and  Europeans  in  the  higher  Service  received  the  same 
pay  :   both   began  on   Rs.  oOO  p.  m.    In  1880  the  pay 
for  Indians   was  reduced   to   Rs.   333,  and  in  1889  to 
Rs.  250,  although   the   Indians  had  graduated  in  an 
English   University.     The  highest  pay  for  the  Indian 
now  was  to  be  Rs.  700,  however  long  he  might  seiwe, 
while    the  Englishman    had    Rs.  1,000    at    the  end  of 
10    years.     These   invidious    distinctions    caused    the 
most    brilliant  Indians  to  refuse  to  enter  the  Service. 
The    new    scheme    further     barred    Indians     out     of 
Principalships     of     certain     Colleges,     reserved     for 
Englishmen.     The    year     of    Her    Majesty's    Jubilee 
should    not    have    been    selected   for    this  retrograde 
policy.      He     appealed    to    the    Congress    to    protest 
against    this   policy   of  exclusion,  and  to  fight  against 
it,   and   then  "this  attempt  to  fix  on  the  broAvs  of  the 


236  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

people  of  this  ancient  land  a  new  stigma  and  a  new 
disability  shall  fail,  as  it  deserves  to  fail  ". 

The  Hon.  Rai  Bahadur  P.  Ananda  Charlu  seconded 
the  Resolution  formally,  and,  supported  by  three 
other  speakers,  it  was  carried. 

Resolution  VII,  on  the  extension  of  the  Jury 
System,  was  moved  by  Mr.  Hem  Chandra  Rai  in  a 
very  short  speech,  in  which  he  quoted  the  opinion  of 
Sir  Cecil  Beadon  as  long  ago  as  1867,  that  the  system 
should  be  universally  adopted,  as  it  would  prove  of 
"  decided  benefit  to  the  Courts,"  and  would  increase 
public  confidence.  Mr.  R,  P.  Karandikar  said  a  few 
words  only  in  seconding,  and  the  Resolution  was 
carried. 

Another  long  and  vainly  urged  reform,  that  of  the 
Salt  Tax,  was  moved  as  Resolution  VIII  by  Mr.  R.  D. 
Nagarhar,  seconded  by  M.  S.  Ramaswami  Clupta, 
and  carried,  whereupon  the  Congress  adjourned. 

The  third  day  opened  with  telegrams  of  sympathy 
and  adhesion,  and  then  Mr.  Gr.  Parameshvaram 
Pillai  Avas  called  on  to  move  Resolution  IX,  protesting 
against  the  disabilities  inflicted  on  Indians  in  South 
Africa,  and  calling  on  the  Governments  of  Her 
Majesty  and  of  India  to  protect  them.  He  spoke 
strongly  and  bitterly  as  was  natural,  after  describing 
the  infamous  Act  passed  in  Natal,  which  compelled 
Indians  Avho  had  gone  thither  either  to  renew  the 
indenture  whenever  it  expired,  or  to  pay  nearly  half 
their  annual  earnings  to  the  State.  The  Government 
of  India  had  agreed  "to  this  monstrous  measure," 
which    would   convert    a    large    class    of    industrious 


THE    TWELFTH    CONGRESS  237 

people   into    hereditary  bondsmen.     Strange  was  the 

position  of  Indians  : 

In  India,  we  are  permitted  to  become  members  of  the 
Imperial  Legislative  Council.  In  England,  even  the 
doors  of  that  august  assembly,  the  House  of  Commons, 
are  open  to  us.  But  in  South  Africa,  we  are  not  permitted 
to  travel  without  a  pass,  we  are  not  allowed  to  walk 
about  in  the  night,  we  are  consigned  to  locations,  we  are 
denied  admission  to  the  first  and  second  classes  on 
railways,  we  are  driven  out  of  tramcars,  we  are  pushed 
off  footpaths,  we  are  kept  out  of  hotels,  we  are  refused 
the  benefit  of  the  public  paths,  we  are  spat  upon,  we  are 
hissed,  we  are  cursed,  we  are  abused,  and  we  are  subjected 
to  a  variety  of  other  indignities  which  no  human  being 
can  patiently  endure. 

He  pointed  out  that  Indians  were  urged  to  show 
enterprise  and  go  out  into  the  world,  and  this  was 
the  result.  They  had  better  remain  here,  if  the 
Government  would  not  protect  them,  "  till  the  merciful 
hand  of  pestilence  or  famine  relieves  an  overburdened 
Empire  of  its  surplus  population  ". 

Mr.  V.  N.  Apte  seconded,  saying  that  they  were 
told  that  England's  mission  was  to  raise  all  fallen 
and  downtrodden  races.  Who  would  believe  it  in 
the  face  of  South  Africa  ?  Mr.  R.  D.  Mehta  support- 
ed, and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  X  brought  up  the  grievances  of  the 
Medical  Services,  moved  by  Dr.  Nilratan  Sarkar,  who 
with  Dr.  Golab  Chandra  Bez  Barna,  and  Dr.  P.  C. 
Nandi,  recounted  and  urged  the  facts  which  Dr. 
Bahadurji  had  laid  before  the  previous  Congress.  It 
was  carried. 

Resolution  XI  was  the  Omnibus,  and  it  was 
proposed  by  Mr.  Ali  Muhammad  Bhimji,  and  seconded 


238  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

by  Dr.  Nibaran  Chandra  Das.  It  attracted  four  other 
supporters  and  was  passed. 

Then  the  grim  spectre  of  famine  stalked  into  the 
Congress  with  Resolution  XII,  and  the  Hon.  Mr. 
Surendranath  Bannerji  undertook  the  sad  task  of 
moving  it.  Had  the  Grovernment  accepted  the  policy 
urged  upon  them  by  the  Congress,  there  would  have 
been  no  famine.  Lord  Elgin,  the  Viceroy,  had  spoken 
of  the  prosperity  of  the  Central  Provinces,  but  what 
was  their  state,  as  described  by  ej^e-witnesses  ? 
Consider  the  rise  of  the  death-rate  during  the  last 
two  years,  from  25  to  97  in  one  case,  from  44  to  138 
in  another,  from  36  to  140  in  a  third.  The  Chief 
Commissioner  spoke  of  famines  as  "  visitations  of 
Providence,"  but  they  came  through  the  blunders 
of  our  Rulers.  The  speaker  proved  from  figures  how 
much  better  olf  Indian  labourers  were  in  the  time  of 
Akbar  than  now,  and  famines  were  Nature's  reminders 
to  Government  to  mend  their  ways. 

The  resolution  was  seconded  by  the  Hon.  Rai 
Bahadur  P.  Ananda  Charlu,  who  enquired  after 
Lord  Lytton's  Famine  Fund.  The  failure  of  one 
monsoon  had  reduced  the  country  to  starvation. 
Nine  other  speakers  followed,  giving  details  of  relief- 
work,  and  pointing  to  the  causes  of  famine  in  the 
drain,  the  over-taxation,  the  lavish  expenditure,  the 
destruction  of  industries,  the  many  evils  against  which 
the  Congress  Avas  ever  protesting. 

Resolution  XIII  dealt  with  the  normal  poverty  of 
India,  so  closely  related  to  the  famines ;  people 
normally     half-starved     have    little    resistance  power 


THE    TWELFTH    CONGRESS  239 

when  complete  starvation  comes.  Mr.  R.  N. 
Mudholkar  moved  it,  urging  Permanent  Settlement, 
Agricultural  Banks,  raising  of  minimum  for  Income- 
Tax,  and  Technical  Education.  Mr.  N.  M.  Samarth 
pointed  to  the  danger,  showing  the  riots  which  were 
breaking  out,  from  the  desperation  of  the  people.  He 
laid  stress  on  the  insufficiency  of  the  food-grains  in 
the  country,  the  growing  poverty  of  the  people,  and 
the  mistaken  policy  of  the  Government.  An  amend- 
ment was  proposed,  and  the  Congress  adjourned,  but 
it  was  next  day  withdrawn,  and  the  Resolution 
carried. 

The  fourth  day  opened  with  eleven  resolutions  still 
to  dispose  of,  but  the  hardened  Congressman  is 
accustomed  to  rush  his  last  fences.  Mr.  Kalicharan 
Bannerji  led  off  with  Resolution  XIV,  asking  for 
Teaching  Universities  in  particular,  and  improvements 
in  the  Universities  in  general.  He  pointed  out  that 
the  Universities  afforded  no  post-graduate  facilities 
for  teaching  or  study,  and  noted  that  the  successes 
of  Professor  J.  C.  Bose  and  Dr.  Roy  had  been  won  in 
despite  of  disabilities  and  discouragements.  The  Acts 
of  Incorporation  fettered  their  Universities,  and  they 
could  not  do  as  they  would.  Government  said  the 
matter  was  not  urgent ;  he  prayed  the  Congress  to 
make  it  so. 

Mr,  Shivaram  Mahadeva  Pranjapi  seconded  the  Re- 
solution very  briefly,  but  made  a  good  point  :  "What 
is  this  Congress  ?  It  is  a  Congress  of  the  Educated. 
Education  is  the  Soul  of  the  Congress."  The  Re- 
solution was  carried. 


240  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Mr.  Jogendra  Chandra  Ghose  proposed  Resolution 
XV,  asking  for  the  Repeal  of  the  Inland  Emigration 
Act.  He  spoke  of  the  miseries  of  the  coolies  in 
the  Assam  Tea  Gardens  that  he  had  seen,  and  said  that 
he  had  seen  men  and  women  jump  off  the  steamers 
into  the  Brahmaputra  to  escape.  In  1886,  the  Chief 
Commissioner  of  Assam  had  said  "  that  in  re- 
mote and  unhealthy  tracts  the  planters  cannot  do 
without  a  Penal  Act  ".  So  an  Act  had  been  passed 
punishing  with  imprisonment  a  man  who,  after 
registration,  refused  to  go,  or  who  deserted,  or 
refused  to  work.  Recruiters  enlisted  the  coolies, 
sometimes  kidnapped  them,  constantly  cheated  them. 
In  the  gardens  both  men  and  women  were  beaten. 
The  death-rate  of  coolies  under  the  Act  was  more 
than  twice  that  of  non-Act  coolies.  There  was  no 
difficulty  in  getting  labour  at  fair  wages,  and  the 
wages  under  the  Act  were  unfairly  low^ 

Mr.  Bepin  Chandra  Pal  seconded,  saying  the  Act 
was  not  needed  except  for  out-of-the-way  and 
unhealthy  places,  and  none  had  a  right  to  force  the 
coolies  to  these.  Mr.  Rajani  Kanta  Sarkar  was 
surprised  that  the  British,  who  had  abolished  slavery, 
allowed  tins  disgraceful  Act  on  the  Statute  Book. 
Its  provisions  were  barbarous,  and  the  coolies  so 
dreaded  them  that  one  man,  not  long  before,  had  cut 
his  throat,  as  he  was  being  marched  in  a  gang  to  the 
railway  station.     The  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  XVI  asked  that  the  Executive  Councils 
of  the  Governments  of  Bombay  and  Madras  might 
have      three      members    instead    of    two.       Mr.     G. 


THE    TWELFTH    CONGRESS  241 

Parameshvarani  Pillai  who  moved,  pointed  out  that 
a  sympathetic  Grovernor  was  often  over-ruled  by  the 
two  civilian  Councillors.  If  there  were  three,  and 
the  third  a  non-civilian,  the  Governor  and  the  non- 
civilian  could  vote  against  the  civilian  pair,  and  the 
Governor's  casting  vote  would  decide.  The  Resolution 
was  seconded  by  Mr.  Ali  Muhammad  Bhimji  and 
carried. 

Mr.  G.  Subramania  Iyer  moved  Resolution  XVII, 
which  protested  against  the  Government  policy  of 
short  settlements  of  Land  Revenue,  and  asked  that 
at  least  60  years  should  separate  revisions.  The 
Government  had  promised  that  Permanent  Settlements 
should  everywhere  be  introduced,  but  the  promise 
remained  unfulfilled.  Mr.  J.  P.  Goodridge  seconded, 
speaking  from  his  own  experience  as  a  Settlement 
Commissioner,  and  said  that  the  present  policy 
involved  a  breach  of  faith,  and  was  economically 
indefensible.     The  Resolution  was  carried. 

Mr.  S.  P.  Sinha  moved  the  eighteenth  Resolution, 
stating  that  it  was  desirable  that  no  Chief  should  be 
deposed  without  trial  before  a  Public  Tribunal, 
satisfactory  to  the  British  Government  and  the  Indian 
Chiefs.  A  Chief  had  no  safeguard  against  an 
oppressive  Resident.  lEe  might  be  deposed  without 
trial.  He  had  no  appeal  to  the  House  of  Commons. 
Such  depositions  caused  disquiet  and  Avere  impolitic. 
Mr.  Caine  seconded,  and  said  that  the  only  thing  he 
could  discover  as  the  reason  for  the  late  deposition  of 
the  Maharaja  Rana  of  Jhallawar  was  "  a  petty  dispute 
between     a   proud     and     sensitive     Prince     and    an 

20 


242  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    I'M^KKDOM 

exceedingly  foolish  Resident  ".  He  did  not  know  if 
the  deposition  wove  jnstitied  or  not,  for  the  facts  were 
concealed. 

Resolution  XIX  asked  that  tlie  Central  Provinces 
might  have  an  elected  instead  of  a  nominated 
member  in  the  Supreme  Legislative  Council.  It  was 
carried. 

Resolution  XX  expressed  the  satisfaction  of  the 
Congress  over  the  delegation  of  Mr.  1).  K.  Wacha  to 
give  evidence  before  the  Royal  Coniiiiissio]!  on  ex- 
penditure, and  was  moved  liy  tlic  Hon.  Pandit 
Bishambharnath,  who  called  him  *'  our  Indian 
Fawcett  ".  The  Resolution  was  seconded  by  Mr. 
G.  K.  Gokhale,  who  said  that  he  wanted  "  to  pay 
my  own  humble  tribute  of  admiration  of  Mr.  AV^acha 
for  the  splendid  Avork  he  has  been  doing  all  tliese 
recent  years",  lie  sjidkc  of  their  iulniir;Uion  "for 
his  unflagging  energy,  for  the  painstaking  cluiracter 
of  his  work,  and,  above  all,  for  the  in(lomital)le 
coiii-igc  wliicli  ;ilw;iys  charjicterises  him  "  and  foi-  his 
unrivalled  grasp  of  iiuiiiu-ial  {juestions.  Tlio  lion. 
Raja  Uampal  Singh  and  Mr.  Caine  also  bore  tcsiiinony 
to  Mr.  Wacha^s  great  capacity. 

Mr.  W.  C.  Jiannerji,  in  INwdJnt  i,,n  XXI,  voiced  the 
Congress'  contiiined  (•(.uliibMicc  ii)  iMi-.  Uadabhai 
Naoroji,  and  hoped  thai  lie  would  be  re-elected  to 
the  House  of  Coiunions  ;  the  Resolution  was  seconded 
and  eai-i'ied. 

Then  came  the  litial  b'esoliit  ions,  vof  ing  Ks.  (»(),()()() 
to  the  JJritisli  Committee, re-a|)|»niiit iiig  Mr.  A.O.  Hume 
Jind    Mr.    I).  K.    AVaelui    as  (Jenei'al  and  Joint  (!eneral 


THE    TWELFTH    CONGKESS  248 

Secretaries,  and  fixing  on  Amraoti  as  the  place  of 
meeting  for  the  Thirteenth  Congress. 

The  Congress  rose  after  a  warmly  proposed  and 
seconded  vote  of  thanks,  and  the  presentation  of  a  gold 
watch  and  chain  to  the  President  by  his  Muhammadan 
admirers,  and  his  speech  in  reply. 

Thus    ended   the   Twelfth  National  Congress,  1896. 

RESOLUTIONS 

The  Queen-Empress 

[.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  place  on  record  its 
liuriible  congratulations  on  Her  G-raciovis  Majesty,  the  Queen- 
Empress,  having  attained  the  sixtieth  j^ear  of  her  reign,  the  lono-est 
and  the  most  benelicent  in  the  annals  of  the  Empire — a  reign 
associated  with  the  most  important  advances  in  human  happiness 
and  civilisation.  The  Congress  expresses  the  hope  that  Her 
Majesty  may  long  be  spared  to  i-eign  over  her  j^eoplc. 

Thanks  of  Congress 

II.  Eesolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  convey  to  Sir 
William  Wedderbitrn  and  the  other  members  of  the  British  Com- 
mittee its  most  grateful  thanks  for  tlieir  disinterested  services  in 
the  cause  of  Indian  Political  Advancement  and  accords  its  heartv 
welcome  to  Mr.  W.  S.  Caine  as  the  Delegate  of  the  British  Com- 
mittee to  this  Congress. 

Legal 

III.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  notices  with  satisfaction 
the  support  of  public  opinion  both  in  England  and  in  India,  which 
the  question  of  the  separation  of  Judicial  from  Executive  functions 
in  the  administration  of  justice  has  received  ;  and  this  Congress 
once  again  apjjeals  to  the  Government  of  India  and  the  Secretary  of 
State,  to  take  practical  steps  for  speedily  carrying  out  this  much- 
needed  reform.  In  this  connection,  the  Congress  desires  to  record 
its  deep  regret  at  the  death  of  Mr.  Mano  Mohan  Ghose,  who  made 
this  question  the  subject  of  his  special  study. 

VII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  having  regard  to  the 
opinion  of  the  Jury  Commission  as  to  the  success  of  the  system  of 
Trial  by  Jury,  and  to  the  fact  that  with  the  progress  of  education  a 
sufficient  number  of  educated  persons  is  available  in    all  jiarts  of  the 


24.4  HOW    INDIA    WKOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

couiitrv,  and  coucurring  with  previous  Congresses,  is  of  opinion  that 
Trial  bv  Jury  should  be  extended  to  districts  and  offences  to  which 
the  system  iit  present  does  not  apjily,  and  that  the  verdicts  should 
be  final. 

XVII 1.  Resolved— That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Cong-ress  it  is 
desirable  that  in  future  no  Indian  Prince  or  Chief  shall  be  deposed 
on  the  ground  of  nuvl -administration  or  misconduct  until  the  fact  of 
such  nial-administration  or  misconduct  shall  have  been  established 
to  the  satisfaction  of  a  Public  Tribunal,  which  shall  command  the 
confidence  alike  of  Government  and  of  the  Indian  Princes  and 
Chiefs. 

Provincial  Finance 

IV.  Resolved — Considering  that  the  Local  Governments  are 
entrusted  with  all  branches  of  administration,  excepting  Army  ex- 
penditure, superior  supervision  and  control  here  and  in  England, 
and  the  payment  of  interest  on  debt,  this  Congress  is  of  opinion 
that  the  allotments  made  to  the  Provincial  Governments  on  what  is 
called  the  Provincial  Adjustments  are  inadequate,  and  that  in  view 
of  the  revision  of  the  (^uin()uennial  Provincial  Contract,  which  is  to 
take  place  in  1897,  the  time  has  arrived  when  a  further  step  should 
be  taken  in  the  matter  of  financial  decentralisation,  by  leaving  the 
responsibility  of  the  financial  administration  of  the  different  Provin- 
ces principally  to  the  Local  Governments,  the  Supreme  Govern- 
ment receiving  from  each  Local  Government  only  a  fixed  contri- 
bution levied  in  accordance  with  some  definite  and  equitable  princi- 
ple, which  should  not  be  liable  to  any  distui-bance  diu'ing  the  cur- 
rency of  the  period  of  contract,  so  as  to  secure  to  Local  Govern- 
ments that  fi.scal  certainty,  and  that  advantage  arising  from  the 
normal  expansion  of  the  revenues,  which  are  so  essential  to  all  real 
|»n>v'ress  in  the  developmeut  of  the  resources  and  the  satisfactory 
adiiiinibtration  of  the  difterent  Provinces. 

Public  Service 

V.  ResoUed — That  tliis  Congress,  concurring  with  previous 
Congresses,  again  rec-ords  its  deep  regret  that  the  labours  of  the 
Pul)lic  Service  Commission  have  practically  proved  void  of  any 
gooil  ri'sult  to  the  peojile  of  this  country,  and  rejjeats  its  conviction 
that  no  satisfactory  solution  of  the  (juestion  is  ])ossible  unless  effect 
is  given  to  tlie  Resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  the  2nd 
June,  W.y.i,  in  favour  of  holding  the  competitive  examinations  for  the 
Indian  Civil  Services,  riz.,  Civil,  Medical,  Police,  Engineering, 
Telegraph,  Forest,  and  Accounts,  both  in  India  and  in  England. 
'J'his  Congress  would  once  again  respectfully  urge  on  Her  Majesty's 
(Jovernment  that  the  Resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons  should 
be  sjK-eilily  carried  out  as  an  act  of  justice  to  the  Indian  ])eople  and 
as  the  only  adequate  fiilliimciit  of  the  pledges  made  to  them. 


THE    TWELFTH    CONGRESS  245 

VI.  Resolved- -That  this  Congress  hereby  rec-ords  its  protest 
against  the  scheme  reorg-anising  the  Educational  Service  which  has 
just  received  the  sanction  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  as  being  calcu- 
lated to  exclude  Natives  of  India,  including  those  who  have  been 
educated  in  England,  from  the  superior  grade  of  the  Education 
Service  to  which  they  have  hitherto  been  admitted ;  for  in  the 
words  of  the  Resolution : — "  In  future  Natives  of  India  who  are 
desirous  of  entering  the  Education  Department  will  usually  be 
appointed  in  India,  and  to  the  Provincial  Service."  The  CongTCSs 
prays  that  the  scheme  may  be  so  recast  as  to  afford  facilities  for 
the  admission  of  Indian  graduates  to  the  superior  grade  of  the 
Educational  Service. 

X.  Resolved — (a)  Tluit  this  Congress  notices  with  satisfaction 
tliat  its  views  in  connection  with  the  urgency  and  the  lines  of 
reform  in  regard  to  the  condition  of  the  Civil  and  Militarj'  Medical 
Services  of  the  country  have  been  endorsed  in  influential  Medical 
and  Military  circles  ;  and  in  the  interests  of  the  public,  the  Medical 
Science  and  the  profession,  as  also  in  the  cause  of  economic  adminis- 
tration, this  Congress  once  again  affirms:  (1)  that  there  should  be 
only  one  Military  Medical  Service  with  two  branches,  one  for  the 
European  army  and  the  other  for  native  troops,  worked  on  identical 
lines,  and  (2)  that  the  Civil  Medical  Service  of  the  country  should 
be  reconstituted  as  a  distinct  and  independent  Medical  Service, 
wholly  detached  from  its  present  Military  connection,  and  recruited 
from  the  open  profession  of  Medicine  in  India  and  elsewhere,  with 
due  regard  to  the  utilisation  of  indigenous  talent,  other  thing.=!  being 
equal. 

(h)  That  the  Congress  further  affirms  that  the  status  and 
claims  of  Civil  Assistant  Surgeons  and  Hospital  Assistants  require 
thorough  and  open  enquiry  with  a  view  to  the  redressing  of  long- 
standing anomalies  and  consequent  grievances. 

XVI.  Resolved — Tliat  having  regard  to  the  wisdom  of  the. 
policy  of  appointing  to  the  Governorships  of  Madras  and  Bombay, 
statesmen  from  England  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Services  in  India, 
and  in  view  to  the  ittilisation  by  those  Governors  of  the  power  of 
giving  when  necessary  a  casting  vote  allowed  them  bj'  law,  this 
Congress  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  desirable  that  the  Exectttive 
Governments  of  those  Provinces  should  be  administered  by  the 
Governors  with  Councils  of  three  members  and  not  of  two 
members  as  at  present,  and  that  one  of  the  three  Councillors 
must  be  other  than  a  member  of  the  Indian  Civil  Service  ;  and  in 
view  to  carrying  out  the  object  without  additional  cost,  this 
Congress  would  suggest  that  the  officers  conimanding  the  forces 
of  those  Presidencies  be  declared  members  of  the  respective  Councils, 
as  the  Commanders-in-Chief  of  Madras  and  Bombay  were,  before 
the  Madras  and  Bombay  Armies  Act  of  1893  was  passed. 


246  now    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Salt  Tax 

VIII.  Resolved — Tliiit  tliis  CiinuTess  once  aoaiii  places  on  re- 
cord its  sense  of  the  great  liardsliip  which  the  present  rate  of  Salt 
Tax  imposes  upon  the  poorest  classes  of  the  country,  a  hardship 
which  renders  it  incumbent  upon  the  Government  to  take  tlie 
earliest  opi)ortunity  to  restore  the  duty  to  the  level  of  1868. 

South  Africa 

IX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  once  again  deems  it  neces- 
sary to  record  its  most  solemn  protest  against  the  disabilities 
imposed  on  Indian  settlers  in  South  Africa,  and  the  invidious  and 
humiliating  distinctions  made  between  them  and  Euro])ean  settlers, 
and  apjieals  to  Her  Majesty's  Government  and  the  Government  of 
India  to  guard  the  interests  of  Indian  settlers  and  to  relieve  them 
of  the  disa))iliti('s  to  which  they  are  subjected. 

Confirmation  of  Previous  Resolutions 

XI.  Resolved— That  this  Congress  concurs  with  its  predeces- 
sors in  strongly  advocating  : — 

(a)  Persistent  i)ressure  by  the  Government  of  India  on  all 
Provincial  Administrations  to  induce  them  to  carry  out  in  its 
integrity  the  excise  policy  enunciated  in  paragraphs  103,  104  and 
105  of  the  Despatch  published  in  The  Gazette  of  India  of  i\Iarch, 
1890,  and  the  introduction  of  a  simple  system  of  effective  h)cal 
ojition. 

Legal 

(h)  The  introduction  into  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure  of  a 
provision  enabling  accused  persons  in  warrant  cases  to  demand  that 
instead  of  being  tried  by  the  Magistrate,  they  may  be  committed  to 
the  Court  (»f  Sessions. 

MHifart/ 

('•)  A  modification  of  the  rules  under  the  Arms  Act  so  as  to 
make  them  (■(|Uii!ly  applicable  to  all  residents  in,  or  visitors  to,  India 
without  distinction  of  creed,  caste  or  colour  ;  to  ensure  the  liberal 
concession  of  licences  wherever  wild  animals  liabitually  destroy 
human  life,  cattle  or  crops;  and  to  make  all  licences,  granted  uiuler 
the  revised  ruh-s,  of  life-long  teniii-e,  revocable  only  on  proof  of 
misuse,  and  valid  tliroughout  th«^  Provincial  jurisdiction  in  wliich 
they  are  issued  ; 

(d)  The  estalilislimeni  of  Military  Colleges  in  India,  whereat 
Natives  of  India,  as  defined  by  Statute,  may  be  educated  and  traintnl 
for  a  military  career,  as  Commissioned  or  non-tJominissioncd  officers 
(according  to  capacity  and  <|iiali(icalinus)  in  the  Indian  army  ; 


THE    TWELFTH    CONGRESS  247 

(e)  The  authorising  and  stimulating  of  a  widespread  system 
of  volunteering,  siich  as  obtains  in  Great  Britain,  amongst  the 
people  of  India. 

Compensation 

if)  The  discontinuance  of  the  grant  of  Exchange  Compensa- 
tion Allowance  to  the  non-domiciled  European  and  Eurasian 
employees  of  Government. 

India  Council 

(g)  The  abolition  of  the  Council  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for 
India. 

Provincial  Council  and  High  Court  (Panjah) 

(h)  The  establishment  of  a  High  Court  of  Judicature  and  a 
Provincial  Legislative  Council  in  the  Punjab. 

Coercion  of  the  Press 

((')  The  withdrawal  of  the  Government  of  India  Notification 
of  2.5th  June,  1891,  in  the  Foreign  Department,  gagging  the  Press  in 
Territories  under  British  administration  in  Native  States,  as  being 
retrograde,  ai'bitrary  and  mischievous  in  its  nature  and  opposed  to 
sound  statesmanship  and  to  the  liberty  of  the  people. 

Poverty,  Famine,  and  Remedies 

XII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  deplores  the  out-break 
of  famine  in  a  more  or  less  acute  form  throughout  India  and  holds- 
that  this  and  other  famines  which  have  occurred  in  recent  years*. 
are  due  to  the  great  poverty  of  the  people,  brought  on  by  the  drain' 
of  the  wealth  of  the  country  which  has  been  going  on  for  years'- 
together,  and  by  the  excessive  taxation  and  over-assessment,, 
consequent  on  a  policy  of  extravagance,  followed  by  the  Govern- 
ment both  in  the  Civil  and  the  Military  departments,  which  has  so 
far  impoverished  the  people  that  at  the  first  touch  of  scarcity  they 
are  rendered  helpless  and  must  perish  unless  fed  by  the  State  or 
helped  by  private  charity.  In  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the 
true  remedy  against  the  recurrence  of  famine  lies  in  the  adoption 
of  a  policy,  which  would  enforce  economy,  husband  the  resources 
of  the  State,  foster  the  development  of  indigenous  and  local  arts 
and  industries  which  have  practically  been  extinguished,  and 
help  forward  the  introduction  of  modern  arts  and  industries. 

In  the  meantime  the  Congress  would  remind  the  Government 
of  its  solemn  duty  to  save  human  life  and  mitigate  human  suffer- 
ing (the  provisions  of  the  existing  Famine  Code  being  in  the 
opinion    of    the  Congress  inadequate    as  regards  wages  and  rations 


248  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

and  oppressive  as  reg-ards  task  work),  and  would  appeal  to  the 
Government  to  redeem  its  pledges  by  restoring  the  Famine 
Insurance  Fund  (keeping  a  separate  account  of  it)  to  its  original 
footing,  and  to  apply  it  more  lai-gely  to  its  original  purpose,  viz., 
the  immediate  relief  of  the  famine-stricken  people. 

That  in  view  of  the  fact  that  private  charity  in  England  is 
ready  to  flow  freely  into  this  country  at  this  awful  juncture,  and 
considering  that  large  classes  of  sufferers  can  only  be  reached  by 
private  chai-ity,  this  Congress  desires  to  enter  its  most  emphatic 
protest  against  the  manner  in  which  the  Government  of  India  is 
at  present  blocking  the  way,  and  this  Congress  humbly  ventures 
to  express  the  hope  that  the  disastrous  mistake  committed  by 
Lord  Lytton's  Government  in  the  matter  will  not  be  repeated  on 
this  occasion. 

XIII.  Resolved — Tiiat  this  Congress  once  again  would  desire 
to  call  the  attention  of  the  Government  to  the  deplorable  condition 
of  the  poorer  classes  in  India,  full  forty  millions  of  whom,  accord- 
ing to  high  otKcial  authority,  drag  out  a  miserable  existence  on  the 
verge  of  starvation  even  in  normal  j-ears,  and  the  Congress  would 
recommend  the  following  amongst  other  measures  for  the  ameliora- 
tion of  their  condition : 

(1)  That  the  Permanent  Settlement  be  extended  to  those 
parts  of  the  countr}^  where  it  does  not  exist  at  the  present  time, 
and  restrictions  be  put  on  over-assessments  in  those  parts  of  India 
where  it  maj'^  not  be  advisable  to  extend  the  Permanent  Settle- 
ment at  the  present  time,  so  as  to  leave  the  rj'ots  sufficient  to 
maintain  themselves. 

(2)  That  Agricultui-al  Banks  be  established  and  that  greater 
facilities  be  accorded  for  obtaining  loans  under  the  Agricultural 
Loans  Act. 

(.3)  That  ihc  niinimtnii  income  assessable  under  the  Income- 
tax  Act  bo  raised  fi-om  live  luindred  to  one  thousand. 

(4)  That  technical  schools  be  established  and  local  and 
indigenous  manufactures  fostered. 

Education 

XW.  i{(!S()lve(l — 'I'liMt  tlic  time  having  come  when  greater 
facilities  are  imperatively  required  for  Higher  Education  and  the 
proper  development  of  the  Indian  intellect  than  what  are  at 
present  offered  b,y  examinations  alone,  this  Congress  is  of  opinion 
that  the  Acts  of  Incorporation  of  the  Universities  of  Calcutta, 
Madras  and  Bombay  should  be  amended  so  as  to  provide  for  the 
introduction  of  teaching  functions  and  for  a  wider  scope  of 
learning,  and  so  as  to  suit  generally  the  requirements  of  the 
present  day. 


THK    TWELFTH    CONGRESS  249 

Migration 

XV.  Resolved — That  having'  regard  to  the  facility  of  inter- 
course between  all  parts  of  India  and  Assam,  this  Congress  is  of 
opinion  that  the  time  has  now  arrived  when  the  Inland  Emigration 
Act    I  of   1882,  as  a7nended  by  Act  VII  of  1893,  should  be  repealed. 

Permanent  Settlement 

XVII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  enters  its  emphatic 
protest  against  the  policy  of  Government,  in  Provinces  where  the 
Settlement  of  Land  Re-\'enue  is  periodical,  to  reduce  the  duration 
of  the  Settlement  to  shorter  periods  than  had  been  the  case  till 
now,  and  prays  that  the  Settlement  should  be  guaranteed  for  long 
periods,  at  least  for  sixty  years. 

Representation 

XIX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  puts  on  record  its  em- 
phatic protest  against  the  retrograde  policy  of  tho  Government  of 
India  followed  last  year  in  nominating  a  gentleman  for  the  Central 
Provinces  to  the  Supreme  Legislative  Council  without  asking  local 
bodies  to  make  recommendations  for  such  nomination,  and  earnest- 
ly hopes  that  Government  will  be  pleased  to  take  early  steps  to 
give  to  the  Central  Provinces  the  same  kind  of  representation  that 
it  has  already  granted  to  Bengal,  Madras,  Bombay  and  the  North 
Western  Provinces. 

Eixpenditure  Commission 

XX.  Resolved— That  this  Congress  desires  to  place  on  record 
its  sense  of  satisfaction  at  the  delegation  by  the  Bombay  Presidency 
Association  of  Mr.  Dinshaw  Eduljee  Wacha,  Joint  General  Secretary 
of  the  Congress,  to  give  evidence  before  the  Royal  Commission  07i 
Expenditure,  and  the  Congress  has  full  confidence  that  Mr.  Wacha 
will  give  accurate  and  adequate  expression  to  its  views  on  the 
C|uestions  which  form  the  subject  of  eiupiiry. 

Parliamentary  Representation 

XXI.  Resolved— That  this  Congress  again  expresses  its  full 
and  unabated  confidence  in  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji  as  the  represen- 
tative of  the  people  of  India,  and  hopes  that  he  will  be  re-elected 
by  his  old  constituency  of  Central  Finsbury  or  any  other  Liberal 
constituency. 

Congress  Work 

XXII.  Resolved— That  a  sum  of  Rupees  sixty  thousand  be 
assigned    for    the    expenses   of    the    British    Committee  and  cost  of 


250  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

the  Congress  Publication,  India,  and  also  for  the  expenses  of  the 
Joint  General  Secretary's  Office,  and  that  the  several  circles  do 
contribute  as  arranged,  either  now,  or  hereafter  in  committee,  for 
the  year  1897. 

Formal 

XXIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  reappoints  Mr.  A.  O. 
Hume  to  be  General  Secretary,  and  Mr.  D.  B.  Wacha  to  be  Joint 
General  Secretary  for  the  ensuing  year. 

XXIV.  Resolved — That  the  Thirteenth  Congress  do  assemble 
on  such  day  after  Chi-istmas  Day,  1897,  as  may  be  later  determined 
upon,  at  Amraoti,  Berar. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

The  27th,  28tli  and  29th  of  December,  1897,  saw  the 
Thirteenth  National  Congress  in  meeting  assembled 
at  x\.mraoti,  Berar.  692  delegates  had  answered  to  the 
call  in  that  terrible  year  of  distress.  The  number 
was  smaller  than  usual,  but  the  officials  put  every 
possible  difficulty  in  the  way  of  holding  the  Congress 
— partly  because  of  the  wild  outburst  of  suspicion  and 
hatred  which  followed  the  murders  of  Mr.  Rand  and 
Lieutenant  Ay  erst,  and  partly  because  of  the  quaran- 
tine established  in  the  first  fear  of  the  plague.  There 
was  even  doubt  if  the  officials  would  allow  the  Con- 
gress to  be  held,  but  the  steadfastness  of  the  Recep- 
tion Committee  and  the  care  they  took  in  their 
arrangements  finally  triumphed.  The  delegates 
were  distributed  as  follows  : 


Berar,  C.   P.  and  Secunderabad 

...   593 

Madras  ... 

...     38 

Benoal  ... 

...     33 

Bombay 

...     17 

N.  W.   P.  and  Oudh 

...     10 

Pan  jab  ... 

...       1 

692 

252  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHI'    FOR    FREEDOM 

The  Congress  was  welcomed  by  Mr.  Khaparde, 
Chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee,  and  he  opened 
with  a  brief  account  of  the  saddest  year  that  India 
had  known  for  long  :  famine  had  ravaged  the  land  ; 
plague  had  appeared  in  a  form  unknown  for  centu- 
ries ;  a  ruinous  frontier  war  had  hampered  finances  ; 
floods,  fires,  and  earthquakes  had  added  their  terrors. 
(Tovernment  and  people  were  united  in  their  efforts 
to  relieve  the  distress  caused  by  so  many  natural 
catastrophes,  when  two  "  deplorable  murders,"  commit- 
ted at  Poona,  roused  the  distrust  of  the  Government, 
H  panic  over  a  supposed  widespread  conspiracy  arose, 
State  prosecutions  began,  and  "  unexpected  deporta- 
tions "  with  a  proposal  to  amend  criminal  procedure. 
Under  such  circumstances  they  met  ;  the  only  bright 
.spot  in  tlu!  year  was  the  Jubilee  of  her  who  gave 
the  Magna  Carta  of  1858.  He  called  on  the  Hon. 
i\[r.  Surendraujith  P)annerji  to  propose  the  President 
of  the  Congress. 

Mr.  Bannerji,  in  a  few  words,  noting  the  gravity 
of  the  times  owing  to  the  reactionary  tendency  of  the 
(iovernment,  and  the  need  for  a  statesman  to  guide 
their  deliberations,  proposed  the  Hon.  Mr,  C.  Sanka- 
ran  Nair,  "  an  honoured  and  illustrious  leader  of  the 
Congress  movement  ". 

Mr.  M.  \'.  Joshi  seconded,  siiying  that  they 
needed  rh:it  yeiir,  especially,  in  their  President 
unswei-\  iiiLi"  devotion  to  the  Congress,  unquestionable 
loyalty,  and  unhlemisiu'd  personal  character.  These 
they  found  in  the  ih-esident  proposed.  Pandit 
Madan    Mohan    Malaviva    and    Mr.    C.    H.    tSetalwad 


THE    THIRTEENTH    CONGRESS  253 

supported,   and  the  Resolution  was  carried  with  great 
enthusiasm. 

The  President  opened  his  speech  with  a  few  grace- 
ful words  of  reference  to  the  Jubilee  of  the  Queen- 
Empress,  and  then  passed  on  to  the  cry  of  sedition 
suddenly  raised  by  a  section  of  the  Anglo-Indian 
Press  against  the  whole  class  of  educated  Indians.  He 
pointed  out  the  impossibility  of  a  class  brought  up  on 
the  English  classics  by  English  professors,  studying 
English  history,  reading  English  books,  newspapers, 
journals,  not  acquiring  "  English  conceptions  of 
duty,  of  rights,  of  brotherhood  ".  They  knew  that 
class  and  race  divisions,  degradation  and  misery, 
had  been  cured  in  England  by  free  institutions,  and 
they  believed  that  similar  results  would  follow  them 
here.  To  deny  India  representative  institutions  would 
be  to  ignore  the  principles,  for  which  the  noblest 
names  in  England's  history  had  toiled  and  bled.  She 
could  not  close  the  schools,  nor  prevent  her  papers 
circulating,  with  denunciations  of  tyranny  in  them. 
Mr.  Chamberlain  had  been  holding  up  to  admiration 
Wallace,  whose  head  was  stuck  up  as  that  of  a  traitor, 
Bruce,  guilty  of  a  foul  murder,  Emmet  and  other  Irish 
leaders,  executed  for  treason  by  the  English  Govern- 
ment. "  It  is  impossible  to  argue  a  man  into  slavery 
in  the  English  language."  Therefore  they  wished  for 
the  continuance  of  British  rule,  that  India  might 
take  her  place  in  the  Confederacy  of  the  free  English- 
speaking  Nations  of  the  world. 

The   President,   gratefully   recognising  the  magnifi- 
cent  aid  sent  to  starving  India  by  Great  Britain   and 


254  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

other  countries,  said  they  could  not  shut  their  eyes  to 
the  need  of  turning-  the  energy,  which  sought  to  relieve, 
to  a  removal  of  the  causes  of  famine.  "  At  the  root  of 
these  famines  is  the  great  poverty  of  India."  In  Madras 
in  a  favourable  season  there  was  no  grain  for  5  millions 
out  of  a  population  of  28  millions.  Was.  that  to 
continue  ?  Permanent  Settlement  and  Retrench- 
ment were  two  of  the  necessary  reforms.  Much  of 
the  expenditure  was  due  to  the  idea  that  the 
English  were  a  superior  race,  holding  India  by  the 
sword.  "  To  us  this  idea  is  hateful,  and  therefore  Ave 
insist  upon  equality  before  law  and  Government  .  .  . 
These  distinctions  .  .  .  cast  a  slur  on  our  loyalty, 
accentuate  race  prejudices  in  a  most  invidious  form, 
and  relegate  Indians  to  the  position  of  an  inferior  race, 
and  silently  ensure  the  emasculation  of  our  manhood." 
The  Colonies  justified  their  bad  treatment  by 

our    degraded  position  in  our  own  country On 

thi.s  race  question  no  concession  is  possible.  No  com- 
promise can  be  accepted  so  far  as  it  lies  in  us.  We  must 
insist  on  perfect  equality.  Inequalitj"  means  race  inferior- 
ity, national  abasement.  Acquisition,  therefore,  of  all 
civil  rights  conferred  on  Englishmen,  removal  of  all 
disabilities  on  Indians  as  such — these  must  be  our  aim. 

The  President  then  referred  to  the  distress  and 
anger  caused  by  the  plague  measures  in  Poona,  the 
forcible  intrusion  of  soldiers  into  the  ladies  quarters  in 
Hindu  and  ]\fuhaiiiiiiadan  honu^s,  and  their  entry  into 
family  temples.  Mr.  Natu,  a  leading  Poona  Sardar, 
had  sent  formal  written  complaints  to  Government, 
appealing  to  tlieiii  to  interfere.  The  outrages  went 
on,   and    tlie    Pr(\'^id('nt    of  the  I'lague  Committee  was 


THE    THIRTEENTH    CONGRESS  255 

murdei'ed.  The  Anglo-Indian  Press  attacked  the 
Vernacular  Press  and  the  educated  Indians,  "a  gagg- 
ing Act  was  loudly  demanded,  the  polic}'  of  imparting 
education  to  the  Indians  Avas  questioned,  the  Press  in 
England  was  worked,  and  the  Europeans  were  thrown 
into  a  panic  ".  The  result  was  lamentable.  The 
brothers  Natu  were  arrested  and  kept  in  prison  with- 
out trial,  Mr.  Tilak  and  the  Editors  of  two  Verna- 
cular papers  were  prosecuted.  Mr.  Tilak  was  tried  by 
a  judge  and  a  jury  of  6  Europeans  and  3  Indians,  and 
was,  of  course,  convicted  by  6  votes  to  3,  and  was  treated 
as  an  ordinary  criminal.  Government  had  not  answer- 
ed the  question  as  to  the  foundation  of  the  complaints 
made.  But  India  was  asking  it,  and  posterity  would 
ask  it.  To  try  to  stop  progress  "  may  compel  under- 
ground passages  or  its  overflow". 

Shall  we  be  content  to  have  India  as  it  is,  or  shall 
we  go  on  and  do  all  in  our  power  to  lift  it  to  a  higher 
level  P  Years  of  subjection,  nay,  we  may  even  say  servitude, 
have  sapped  the  strength  of  the  Indian  Nation,  dwarfed 
its  growth,  and  stripped  it  of  all  that  was  grand  and 
noble  in  it,  and  if  India  is  ever  to  occupy  a  better 
position  than  she  fills  at  the  present  moment  and 
take  her  proper  place  in  the  scale  of  Nations,  it  must  be 
entirely  due  to  the  zealous  efforts  of  her  educated  and 
enlightened  men. 

The  warnings  of  tlie  speaker  as  to  the  results  of 
repression  were  unheeded,  and  progress  was  driven 
underground.  Mr.  Tilak  was  embittered,  but  not 
terrified,  and  took  his  place  among  the  martyrs  of 
liberty.  The  birth  of  the  Extremist  party  may  be 
dated  from  the  plague  on  tr ages  in  Poona,  the  answer 


2-")6  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

to  the  just  appeals  by  the  Natu  Sardars  for  investiga- 
tion by  imprisonment  without  trial — since  a  trial 
would  have  proved  the  truth  of  their  complaints 
— and  the  unwise  Press  prosecutions. 

The  Subjects  Committee  was  approved  and  the 
Congress  adjourned. 

On  the  second  day,  the  regular  business  began  with 
a  protest  against  the  frontier  policy,  and  a  request 
that,  if  the  Imperial  policy  required  these  trans-frontier 
excursions,  the  British  Exchequer  should  bear  most  of 
the  cost.  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  moved  Resolution  I,  em- 
bodying these  views,  and  as  he  said,  the  subject  had 
really  been  threshed  out.  They  had  protested  annually 
against  the  military  expenditure  incurred  bj^  frontier 
wars.  The  Resolutioii  was  seconded  by  Mr.  G. 
Subramania  Iyer  and  cafiied. 

Resolution  II  was  closely  knit  with  the  first,  and 
asked  the  British  Parliament,  in  view  of  the  distress 
caused  by  famine  and  plague,  to  make  a  substantial 
contribution  to  the  cost  of  the  War  tlien  going  on. 
^fi'.  I)aikuntlianat]i  Sen,  in  moving  it,  urged  that 
India  was  living  from  liand  to  mouth,  and  that  the 
famine  had  dislocated  her  finances;  moreover  the 
evidence  laid  before  the  Expenditure  Commission 
justified  the  liope  that  Britain  would  bear  her  share. 
Mr.  Jaislii  Ham  seconded,  and  the  Resolution  was 
carried  with  the  addition  that  a  petition  embodying 
the  two  resolutions  should  l)e  sent  to  Parliament. 

Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  moved  Resolution 
III,  wliicli,  as  he  said,  crystallised  the  expressions  of 
o])inioii    littered    at   previous  Congresses,  on  the  right 


THE    THIRTEENTH    CONGRESS  25/ 

to  vote  on  Budgets,  the  reduction  of  Military  and  Civil 
Expenditure,  and  a  sharing  between  Britain  and  India 
of  all  costs  incurred  in  their  common  interests.  India 
had  to  pay  for  the  annexation  of  Burma,  for  foreign 
wars ;  let  there  be  direct  Indian  representation  on 
the  India  Council  to  vote  against  these  charges. 
Mr.  Hirendranath  Datta,  in  seconding,  said  that  some 
good  had  come  out  of  the  Expenditure  Commission, 
since  its  members  had  become  convinced  of  the 
poverty  of  India,  and  this  should  lead  to  the 
establishment  of  an  effective  control  over  Indian 
finance.  The  Resolution  was  further  supported  and 
carried. 

A  wise  innovation  Avas  adopted,  by  the  Omnibus 
Resolution,  No.  IV,  being  moved  from  the  Chair,  as 
having  been  thoroughly  discussed  at  previous  Congress- 
es ;  for  the  same  reason,  Resolution  V  on  the  Public 
Service  Commission,  and  Resolution  VI,  on  gagging 
the  Press  in  the  Feudatory  States,  were  put  and 
carried.  The  same  procedure  might  well  have  been 
adopted  with  Resolution  VII  on  Permanent  Settlement, 
which  was,  however,  moved  in  a  very  long  speech  by 
Mr.  John  Adams,  seconded  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  D.  S. 
Carvel,  supported  by  three  other  speakers,  and 
carried. 

Mr.  J.  Choudhuri  moved  Resolution  VIII,  another 
very  old  stager,  the  separation  of  Judicial  and 
Executive  functions,  and  Mr.  C.  H.  Setalwad  in 
seconding  usefully  pointed  out  that  both  the  Hon. 
Mr.  Pherozeshah  Mehta  and  Mr.  Dutt  had  for- 
mulated schemes  which  showed  that  no  additional 
21 


258  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOE    FREEDOM 

expenditure  need  be  entailed  by  carrying  out  the 
reform.  The  Resolution  was  carried,  as  was 
Resolution  IX,  moved  from  the  Chair,  on  the  cause 
of  famine  being  only  removable  by  a  policy  of 
retrenchment  and  reform. 

With  this  the  Congress  adjourned. 

On  the  third  day,  the  President  opened  the 
proceedings  by  putting  from  the  Chair  Resolution  X, 
expressing  thank.;  to  Great  Britain,  the  Colonies, 
the  United  States  and  other  countries  for  help  given 
to  relieve  the  famine,  and  also  for  the  services 
rendered  in  India  by  English  and  Indians. 

Gratitude  was  right  and  fitting,  but  the  heart 
aches  that  the  India,  "  the  droppings  of  whose  soil 
fed  distant  Nations  "  in  the  18th  century,  should  at 
the  end  of  the  19th  be  a  beggar  asking,  at  the  doors 
of  happier  Nations,  for  bread. 

Resolution  XI,  asking  for  three  members  instead 
of  two  in  Executive  Councils,  and  one  of  them  a 
non-official,  was  moved  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  N.  Subba 
Rau.  He  pointed  to  the  necessity  for  placing  an 
Indian  in  each  Executive  Council,  and  commented  on 
the  fact  that  men  like  Dewan  Bahadur  Srinivasa 
Raghava  Iyengar  should  have  to  go  to  Baroda,  and 
Sir  T.  Madhava  Rao  successively  to  Travancore, 
Baroda,  and  Indore,  being  .shut  out  of  high  service  in 
British  India. 

Mr.  N.  C.  Kelkar  seconded,  and  the  Resolution 
was  carried. 

Resolution  XII  was  moved  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Suren- 
dranath    Bannerji,    and    dealt    with   the  exercise   by 


THE    THIRTEENTH    CONGRESS  259 

Government  of  the  special  powers  given  by  the 
Regulations  of  1818,  ^19  and  '27,  and  urged  the 
Government  of  Bombay  either  to  try  or  release  the 
Sardars  Natu,  whom  they  had  kept  in  custody  for 
five  months.  (This  terrible  power  is  exercised  in 
India  still,  the  old  lettres  de  cachet  of  Bourbon  times, 
and  anyone  suspected  by  Government  may  be,  and  too 
often  is,  suddenly  swept  out  of  sight,  disappears,  and 
there  is  no  redress.)  Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerii,  as 
was  fitting,  spoke  warmly  : 

We  regard  the  quartering  of  the  Punitive  Police  at 
Poona  as  a  mistake.  We  regai'd  the  imprisonment  of  Mr. 
Tilak  and  of  the  Poona  Editors  as  a  still  greater  mistake. 
For  Mr.  Tilak  my  heart  is  full  of  sympathy.  My  feelino-s 
go  forth   to    him   in    his    prison    house.      A    J^ation    is  in 

tear^ Englishmen     have    won    for     themselves    the 

Magna  Carta  and  the  Habeas  Corpus.  The  principles 
which  underlie  those  concessions  are  embalmed  in  their 
glorious  constitution.  The  constitution,  I  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  saying,  is  ours  by  birthright ;  born  British  subjects, 
we  are  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  British  subjects.  Who 
will  filch  away  these  rights  from  as  H  We  are  resolved, 
and  this  Congress  will  take  the  pledge,  you  and  I  will 
enter  into  a  solemn  League  and  Covenant.  Let  it  go  forth 
from  this  hall,  let  it  impregnate  the  public  mind  of  India, 
we  are  resolved,  by  every  constitutional  means  that  may 
be  available  to  us,  to  assert  under  the  Providence  of  God 
our  rights  as  British  subjects,  not  the  least  important  of 
which  is  the  inestimable  right  of  personal  liberty. 

Brave  and  true  words,  but  as  fruitless  in  1897  as  in 
1915,  and  to  remain  fruitless  until  they  ring  from 
one  end  of  India  to  the  other.  Now,  as  ever,  is  it  true, 
that  only 

They  have  rights  who  dare  maintain  them. 


260  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Eightly  did  the  eloquent  speaker  say  : 

Brother  delegates,  security  of  life  and  property  are 
the  great  foundations  upon  -svhich  rests  the  vast,  the 
stupendous,  the  colossal  fabric  of  British  rule  in  India. 
What  becomes  of  these  inestimable  blessings  if  at  any 
moment  your  property  may  be  confiscated,  and  you  may 
be  arrested,  kept  in  custody  for  months  together, 
without  a  trial  and  without  a  word  of  explanation  P 
What  becomes  of  the  boasted  vaunt  of  the  boon 
of  personal  liberty  and  personal  security  under  British 
rule  under  these  circumstances  ? 

Mr,  R.  K.  E,.  Gama  seconded  the  Resolution,  and 
quoted  a  remarkable  statement  of  Lord  George 
Hamilton  :  "  In  India,  almost  without  warning,  an 
apparently  peaceful  population  might  suddenly 
become  as  dangerous  as  criminal  lunatics,  with  but 
one  object  before  them — to  murder  the  class  alien  to 
them."  This  wicked  statement,  made  in  the  House  of 
Commons  by  Lord  George  Hamilton,  Secretary  of 
State  for  India,  is  one  more  proof  of  the  profound 
ignorance  of  India  which  seems  to  be  the  qualification 
for  the  Secretaryship.  If  the  shameful  slander  were 
as  true  as  it  is  false,  even  a  criminal  lunatic  has  to  be 
brought  to  trial,  not  kept  indefinitely  in  prison, 
untried.  Messrs.  P.  Kesava  Pillai,  Alfred  Nandi,  and 
V.  K.  Kale  further  supported,  and  the  Resolution 
was  unanimously  carried. 

Resolution  XIII,  brought  up  by  Mr.  W.  C, 
Bannerji,  protested  against  the  proposed  changes  in 
the  law  of  sedition,  as  dealing  an  irreparable  blow  to 
liberty  of  speech  and  the  freedom  of  the  press.  He 
moved  it  in  an  argumentative  and  powerful 
speecli,    sh(j\ving    the    unfairness,    in    matters    called 


THE    THIRTEENTH    CONGRESS  261 

seditious,  of  trying  an  Indian  before  an  English 
jury,  who  might  not  even  know  the  language  of 
the  accused,  or  by  District  Magistrates,  officers  of  the 
Government  threatened  by  the  sedition.  He  thought 
the  proposals  would  be  forced  into  law,  and  he  said  : 

We  must  g-o  before  the  British  pubL'c.  We  must 
explain  to  them  how  the  agents  they  have  sent  to  govern 
the  country  on  their  behalf  and  in  their  name  are  dealing 
with  the  people,  that  is,  dealing  in  a  manner  wholly 
unworthy  of  the  British  name  and  the  British  love  of 
freedom.  And  if  we  can  convince  them  that  we  are  right, 
I  have  no  doubt  that  the  British  Nation  will  rise  in  their 
wrath,  and  free  us  from  the  trammels  which  Lord  Elgin 
and  his  councillors  are  forging  for  us. 

Mr.  Mudholkar  seconded,  in  an  able  speech,  point- 
ing to  the  danger  of  the  loose  form  of  words  em- 
ployed, urging  that  the  measure  was  retrograde  and 
most  mischievous.  Pandit  B.  Narrain  Dhar  quoted  a 
minute  recorded  by  Lord  Hobhouse  in  1876,  in  which 
he  pointed  out  that  any  attempt  towards  even-handed 
justice  was  met  by  the  Anglo-Indian  press  with 
"  outcries  and  menaces,  compared  to  which  the  com- 
plaints of  the  native  newspapers  are  gentle  murmurs  ". 
Similarly,  Sir  James  Fitzjames  Stephens,  asked 
by  certain  "  Native  Associations  "  how  they  could 
tell  whether  they  were  infringing  the  law,  said  :  "  Go 
to  the  English  newspapers  ;  whatever  they  say,  you 
may  say ;  that  anybody  should  want  to  be  more 
offensive  than  they,  is  inconceivable." 

Mr.  A.  C.  Mozumdar  was  astonished  that  the  petty 
calumnies  of  newspapers,  poisoning  against  Indians 
the  mind   of   the   Government,  had  been  so  successful 


262  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

as    to    lead  the     State    itself   to    charge   them   with 

sedition. 

Born  of  a  people  whose  ancestors  often  sacrificed  their 
own  children  for  the  supposed  welfare  of  their  Kings,  we 
disdain  to  learn  lessons  of  loyalty  from  those  whose 
liberties  are  bathed  and  consecrated  in  royal  blood. 

After  two  other  speakers  had  addressed  the  Con- 
gress, the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Mr.  John  Adam  moved  Resolution  XIY,  against 
the  proposed  increase  of  the  powers  of  the  Police, 
and  analysed  at  great  length  the  provisions  of  the 
Criminal  Procedure  Bill  then  pending.  Three  other 
speakers   followed    and  the   Resolution  was   carried. 

After  a  brief  recess,  a  telegram  was  sent  to 
Mr.  Gladstone  on  his  completion  of  his  89fch  year, 
and  then  Resolution  XV,  thanking  the  GTovernment 
for  giving  a  Legislative  Council  to  the  Panjab,  and 
regretting  its  limitations,  was  put  from  the  Chair 
and  carried. 

Resolution  XVI  pointed  out  that  legislation  for 
Berar  was  passed  by  the  Executive,  and  requested  it 
might  be  passed  in  the  Supreme  Legislative  Council. 
No.  XVII  asked  for  the  extension  of  the  scope  of  the 
Famine  Commission  to  encpiire  into  the  causes  and 
prevention  of  periodical  famines.  Mr.  Ramanjalu 
Xaidu  moved  it,  noticing  the  Madi^as  famines  of 
1854,  ^65,  70,  '77-'78,  '91  and  '97.  Nothing  had  been 
done  to  prevent  these  recurrences.  Fourteen  times 
as  nnich  was  spent  on  j-ailways  as  on  irrigation,  while 
if  tiip  money  invested  in  railways  were  used  for  irri- 
gation, famine  would  disappeiii-.     Professor  A.  S.  Sathe 


THE    THIRTEENTH    CONGRESS  263 

secoiided,  urging  that  the  root  of  the  recurring 
famines  must  be  found  and  destroyed.  It  was  the 
result  of  a  century's  bungling.  Railways  helped 
English  trade ;  irrigation  helped  the  ryot.  The 
Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  XVIII  expressing  confidence  in  Mr. 
Naoroji  was  moved  by  the  Hon.  Rai  Bahadur 
P.  Ananda  Charlu,  seconded  by  Mr.  Motilal  Ghose  and 
carried.  Resolutions  XIX  and  XX,  the  usual  thanks 
to  Sir  William  Wedderburn  and  the  British  Committee 
and  the  yearly  grant,  and  the  re-appointment  of 
Mr.  A.  0.  Hume  and  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  were  moved 
from  the  Chair  and  carried,  and  Resolution  XXI  fixed 
the     meeting    of    the    next      Congress    in    Madras. 

The  final  Resolutions,  XXII  thanking  the  Reception 
for  the  success  of  its  singularly  difficult  work,  and 
XXIII  the  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Chair,  were 
enthusiastically  carried,  and  the  President,  with  a 
few  kindly  words  of  recognition,  declared  the 
Thirteenth  National  Congress  dissolved. 

RESOLUTIONS 

Military 

I.  Eesolved — That  this  Congress  expresses  its  deep  and  earnest 
conviction  that  the  present  Frontier  policy  of  the  Government  o£ 
India  is  injurious  to  the  best  interests  of  the  British  Empire  in 
general,  and  this  country  in  particular,  as  it  involves  freqnent 
Militarj'  expeditions  beyond  the  present  limits  of  the  British  Indiana 
Empire  and  causes  great  loss  of  valuable  lives  and  public  money  s 
it  therefore  entreats  the  British  Nation  to  put  a  stop  to  this  aggres- 
sive policy  and  to  lay  down,  that,  if  such  expeditions  are  founct 
necessary,  they  being  for  Imperial  pur])oses,  tlie  major  portion  of 
their  expenses  should  be  defrayed  by  the  British  Exchequer. 

II.  Resolved — That  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  calamities  of 
famine  and  plague  have  dislocated  the  already  seriously  embarrass- 
ed finances   of   this   countrj^,  and  crippled  its  limited  resources,  and 


264  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

that  the  Militaiy  operations  carried  on  beyond  the  North  West 
Fz'ontier  are  for  the  protection  of  Imperial  interests,  this  Congress 
prays  that  the  British  Parliament  will,  pending  the  settlement  of 
the  principle  on  which  the  Military  charges  are  to  be  apportioned 
between  Great  Britain  and  India,  be  pleased  to  make  a  substantial 
contribution  to  the  cost  of  the  present  War. 

II.  A.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  authorises  the  President 
to  submit  a  petition  to  Parliament,  embodying  the  prayer  contained 
in  Resolutions  I  and  II  under  his  hand  on  its  behalf. 

expenditure  Commission 

III.  Resolved  — Tliiit  this  Congress  rejoices  that  the  "  Royal 
Commission  on  Indian  Expenditure "  was  pleased  to  decide  to 
admit  the  public  to  its  proceedings,  and  further  desires  to  express 
its  grateful  acknowledgments  for  the  opportunity  afforded  by  the 
Honourable  Conmaission  to  representative  Indian  witnesses,  to 
state  fully  the  case  on  behalf  of  India.  With  regard  to  the  three 
divisions  of  the  reference,  the  Congress  desires  most  respectfully  to 
submit  the  following  prayers  for  the  favourable  consideration  of 
the  Honourable  Commission  : 

(I)  As  regards  the  machinery  to  control  Indian  Expenditure  it 
is  prayed 

(1) — that  the  non-official  members  of  the  Viceroy's  Council 
may  be  made  more  directly  representative  of  the  Indian  people, 
and  that  they  may  have  the  right  to  move  amendments  and  divide 
the  Council  upon  the  Provisions  of  the  Budget;  (2)  That  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  representative  Indians  of  position  and  experience 
may  be  nominated  to  the  Council  of  the  Secretary  of  State  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  elected  members  of  the  Viceroy's  and  Local 
Legislative  Councils  ;  and  (3)  that  each  year  a  Select  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons  may  be  appointed  to  enquire  into,  and 
report  upon,  the  financial  condition  of  India  ; 

(2)  As  regards  the  progress  of  Expenditure,  it  is  prayed  that 
the  Militarjr  and  other  unproductive  expenditure  be  reduced,  that 
larger  amounts  be  spent  in  promoting  the  welfare  and  progress  of 
the  people,  and  that  a  large  saving  and  more  efficient  administra- 
tion may  be  obtained,  by  the  substitution,  as  far  as  practicable,  of 
Indian  for  European  ageiuy,  in  the  higher  grades  of  the  Public 
Service  ;  and 

(3)  As  regards  ap])ortionmont  of  charges,  it  is  prayed  that 
the  Imperial  Treasury  may  bear  a  fair  proportion  of  all  expenditure, 
in  which  the  common  interests  of  India  and  the  rest  of  the  Empire 
are  involved  ;  and  that  especially  the  expense  of  the  present  war 
beyond  the  frontier  may  be  largely  borne  by  the  Imperial  Exche- 
quer.    Lastl^^,  that  it  be  an  instruction  to  the  President  to  submit  a 


THE    THIRTEENTH    CONGRESS  265 

copy    of    this    Resolution,  under  his  own  signature  to  the  Chairman 
of  the  Roj-al  Commission  with  the  least  practicable  delay. 

Confirmation  of   Previous  Resolutions 

IV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  concurs  with  its  predeces- 
sors in  strongly  advocating :  (1896 :  (a)  (c)  (g)  ;  (h)  omitting 
Provincial  Council,  which  had  been  granted.) 

And  this  Congress,  concurring  with  its  predecessors  records  its 
protests  :  (1896  (a)— (d)  VI,  VIII,  IX,  XIX.) 

And  this  Congress,  also  concurring  with  its  predecessors, 
expresses  its  firm  conviction  : 

(a)  (1896  X)  That  in  the  interests  of  the  public,  the 
Medical  Science,  and  the  Profession,  as  also  in  the  cause 
of  economic  administration,  (1)  there  should  be  only  one 
Medical  Military  Service,  with  two  branches,  one  for  the 
European  Army  and  one  for  Native  Troops,  worked  on 
identical  lines;  (2)  the  Civil  Medical  Service  of  the  country 
should  be  reconstituted  as  a  distinct  and  independent  Medical 
Service,  wholly  detached  froni  its  present  Military  connection, 
and  recruited  from  the  open  profession  of  medicine  in  India 
and  elsewhere,  with  due  regard  to  the  utilisation  of  indigenous 
talent,  other  things  being  equal ;  and  (3)  there  should  be  a 
thorough,  open  enquiry  into  the  status  and  claims  of  Civil  Assistant 
Surgeons  and  Hospital  Assistants  with  a  view  to  the  redressing  of 
long-standing  anomalies  and  consequent  grievances. 

(h)  (1896  XIV). 

(c)  (1896  XV). 

(d)  (1896  XVIII). 

(e)  (1896  VII). 

Public   Service 

V.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  concurring  with  previous 
Congresses,  again  records  its  deep  regret  that  the  labours  of  the 
Public  Service  Commission  have  practically  proved  void  of  any 
good  result  to  the  people  of  this  country,  and  repeats  its  conviction 
that  no  satisfactory  solution  of  the  question  is  possible,  unless 
effect  is  given  to  the  Resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  the 
2nd  June,  1893,  in  favour  of  holding  the  competitive  examinations 
for  the  Indian  Civil  Services,  viz.,  Civil,  Medical,  Police,  Engineer- 
ing, Telegraph,  Forest,  and  Accounts,  botli  in  India  and  in  England. 
This  Congress  would  once  again  respectfullj'  urge  on  Her  Majesty's 
Government  that  the  Resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons  should 
be  speedily  carried  out,  as  an  act  of  Justice  to  the  Indian  people, 
and  as  the  only  adequate  fulfilment  of  the  pledges  made  to  them. 


266  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

XI.  Resolved— That,  having  regard  to  the  wisdom  of  the 
policv  of  appointing  to  the  Governorships  of  Madras  and  Bombay, 
statesmen  from  England,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Services  in  India, 
this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  desirable  that  the  Executive 
Government  of  those  Provinces  should  be  administered  by  the 
Governors  with  Comicila  of  three  Members  and  not  of  two  Mem- 
bers, as  at  present,  and  that  one  of  the  three  Councillors  should  be 
other  than  a  member  of  the  Indian  Civil  Service. 

Coercion 

VI.  Resolved — That  this  Congi-ess  being  of  opinion  that  the 
Government  of  India  Notification  of  2.5th  June,  1891  in  the  Foreign 
Department,  gagging  the  Pi-ess  in  Territories  under  British  ad- 
ministration in  Native  States,  is  retrograde,  arbitrarj%  and  mischiev- 
ous in  its  nature,  and  opposed  to  sound  statesmanship  and  to  the 
liberty  of  the  people,  again  enters  its  emphatic  protest  against  the 
same,  and  urges  its  cancellation  without  delay. 

Leitres  de  Cachet 

XII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  respectfiiUy  deprecates 
the  exercise  by  the  Government  of  the  extraordinary  powers  vested 
in  them  by  Bengal  Regulation  III  of  1818,  Madras  Regulation  II 
of  1819,  and  Bombay  Regulation  XXV  of '1827  at  a  time  of  peace 
and  quiet,  and  submits  that  such  powers  should  be  exercised  only 
under  such  limitations  as  will  ensure  their  being  put  in  force  with 
the  utmost  circumspection  and  care  and  under  a  sense  of  the  high- 
est responsibility  by  the  Government. 

(a)  This  Congress  thei-efore  urges  that  none  of  these  Regni- 
lations  should  be  put  into  force  except  after  notification  by  the 
Local  Government  concerned  that  the  circumstances  contemplated 
by  the  preamble  of  the  Regulations  exist  in  its  Province  or  in  some 
definite  area  within  the  Province,  and  that  it  intends,  if  necessary, 
to  exercise  the  powers  vested  in  it ;  and  further  that  in  no  case 
should  such  powers  extend  to  keeping  a  person  arrested  under 
them  in  custody  for  a  period  of  longer  than  three  months  without 
his  being  brought  to  trial  before  a  Court  of  Justice. 

(h)  That  this  Congress,  while  feeling  that  the  Government 
of  Bombay  must  have  acted  under  a  sense  of  resi)onsibility  in 
arresting  the  Sardars  Natu  under  Bombay  Regulation  XXV  of  1827, 
is  yet  of  opinion,  that,  five  months  having  now  (>laj)sed  from  such 
arrest,  it  is  tlic  duty  of  the;  Government,  in  the  interests  of  Justice, 
and  also  to  allay  the  disquiet  and  uneasiness  which  has  been  created 
in  the  minds  of  the  peojjle  at  large  by  the  arrest,  to  bring  them— 
the  Sardars  Natu — to  trial  without  delay,  or,  if  the  Government 
have  no  sufficient  evidence  against  them  to  place  before  a  Court  of 
Justice,  to  release  them. 


THE    THIRTEENTH    CONGRESS  267 

Sedition 

XIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  views  with  alarm  and 
anxiety  the  changes  proposed  in  the  existing  law  of  sedition  as 
defined  in  Section  124a,  and  of  circnlating  false  reports  as  defined 
in  Section  505  of  the  Indian  Penal  Code,  and  is  of  opinion  that 
Section  124a  of  the  Indian  Penal  Code  requires  amendment,  not  in 
the  direction  of  greater  stringency  but  in  that  of  greater  freedom, 
and  if  the  law  of  sedition  in  India  is  to  be  made  the  same  as  it  is  in 
England,  the  administration  of  it  ought  to  be  safeguarded  sub- 
stantially in  the  same  way  as  it  is  there,  viz.,  that  the  trial  of 
accused  persons  must  always  be  by  juiy,  at  least  one  half  of  whom 
should  be  persons  of  the  same  nationalitj^  as  the  accused,  and  that 
their  verdict  should  be  unanimous.  And  this  Congress  strongly 
protests  against  cases  of  sedition  being  made  triable  by  Magistrates 
and  not  by  Courts  of  Sessions  and  High  Courts  exclusively,  as 
heretofore,  and  agaiust  the  projiosal  to  invest  District  Magistrates 
with  the  power  of  calling  upon  persons  who,  in  their  opinion,  dis- 
seminate disaffection,  to  find  sui-eties  of  good  behaviour  for  twelve 
months.  This  Congress  is  further  of  opinion  that  the  changes  in 
the  law  now  proposed,  will  be  altogether  at  variance  with  the 
pledges  given  by  Sir  James  Fitz- James  Stephen  when  passing 
Section  124a  of  the  Indian  Penal  Code  through  the  Council,  and 
will  deal  an  irreparable  blow  to  liberty  of  speech  and  freedom  of 
the  Press,  thus  retarding  the  progress  of  the  country  and  creating 
terror  instead  of  confidence  in  the  minds  of  the  people. 

That  a  copy  of  this  Resolution  lie  submitted  to  the  Legislative 
Council  by  the  President. 

Criminal  Procedwre 

XIV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  record  its  pro- 
test against  the  Criminal  Pi-ocedure  Bill  of  1897  now  pending  be- 
fore the  Imperial  Legislative  Council,  as  being  a  retrogade  and 
reactionary  measure,  which  will  add  to  the  already  large  powers  of 
the  Police,  invest  Magistrates  with  a  discretionary  authority  which 
they  do  not  now  possess,  and  curtail  the  powers  of  the  High  Coui'ts, 
all  to  the  extreme  prejudice  of  accused  persons. 

Permanent  Settlement 

VII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  enters  its  emphatic  protest 
against  the  policy  of  the  Government  in  Provinces  where  the 
settlement  of  land  revenue  is  periodical  in  reducing  the  duration  of 
the  Settlement  while  enhancing  its  amount,  and  expresses  its  firm 
conviction  that,  in  the  interests  of  the  country  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  that  the  land  revenue  in  such  Pro^nnces  should  be 
permanently  settled. 


268  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Legal 

VIII.  Eesolved — ^That  this  Coiigrciss  notices  witli  satisfaction 
the  support  of  public  opinion  both  in  England  and  in  India  which 
the  question  of  the  separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive  functions 
in  the  adniinisti-ation  of  justice  has  received  ;  and  this  Congress 
once  again  appeals  to  the  Government  of  India  and  the  Secretary 
of  State  to  take  practical  steps  for  carrying  out  the  much  needed 
reform. 

Famine 

IX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  glad  to  note  that  the 
Government  of  India  has  appointed  a  Famine  Commission  and 
hopes  that  the  Commission  will  institute  a  searching  enquiry  into 
the  matter.  At  the  same  time  the  Congress  once  again  desires  to 
repeat  its  conviction  that  famines  are  due  to  the  great  poverty  of 
the  people,  brought  on  by  the  drain  of  the  wealth  of  the  country 
which  has  been  going  on  for  ye;irs  together,  and  by  the  excessive 
taxation  and  over-assessment  consequent  on  a  policy  of  extravagance, 
followed  by  the  Government  both  in  the  Civil  and  Military  Depart- 
ments, which  have  so  far  impoverished  the  people  that,  at  the  first 
touch  of  scarcity,  they  are  rendered  helpless  and  must  perish,  unless 
fed  by  the  State,  or  helped  by  private  charity.  In  the  opinion  of 
this  Congress  the  true  remedy  against  the  recurrence  of  famine  lies 
in  the  adoption  of  a  policy  which  would  enforce  economy,  husband 
the  resources  of  the  State,  foster  the  develojjment  of  indigenous 
and  local  arts  and  industries,  which  have  practically  been  extin- 
guished, and  help  forward  the  introduction  of  modern  arts  and 
industries. 

XVII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  prays  that  the  scope  of 
the  Famine  Commission  appointed  by  the  Government  of  India  be 
extended,  so  as  to  include  an  enquiry  into  the  causes  of  periodical 
famines  and  the  remedies  for  the  prevention  of  the  same. 

X.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  expresses  its  heart-felt 
gratitude  to  the  British  public  and  to  the  peoples  of  the  Britisli 
Colonies,  the  United  States  of  America  and  other  foreign  countries 
for  the  generous  aid  afforded  by  them  to  the  starving  millions  of 
this  country,  during  the  late  dreadful  visitation  of  famine,  and  also 
w^ishes  to  place  on  record  its  liigli  appr(!<;i;ition  of  the  services  which 
many  men,  and  women — Englisli  and  Indian — residing  in  this 
country  rendered,  and  the  pecuniary  help  they  gave  for  the  relief 
of  those  afflicted  by  that  calamity. 

And  that  it  be  an  instruction  to  the  various  Congress  Commit- 
tees to  raise  a  sum  of  a  thousand  pounds,  to  be  sent  to  the  Lord 
Mayor  of  Loudon  on  behalf  of  the  Congress,  in  order  that  he  might 
be  pleased  to  put  some  memorial  in  some  conspicuous  part  of 
London  expressing  the  gratitude  of  the  people  of  India  for  the  help 
rendered  them  during  the  time  of  the  last  famine. 


THE    THIRTEENTH    CONGRESS  269 

Legislative    Council    (Pan jab) 

XV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  while  thanking  the 
Government  for  granting  the  boon  of  a  Legislative  Council  to  the 
Panjab,  places  on  recorfl  its  regret  that  they  have  not  extetirled  to 
the  Councillors  the  rights  of  interpellation,  and  to  the  people  the 
right  of  recommending  Councillors  for  nomination,  such  as  are 
enjoyed  by  the  Councillors  and  people  in  the  other  Provinces. 

Berar   Legislation 

XVI.  Resolved — That  the  Proviucc  of  Berar,  though  not  a 
part  of  British  India,  is  administered  by  tlie  Governor-General-in- 
Council  in  the  same  way  as  any  portion  of  British  India,  but  the 
important  work  of  legislating  for  the  Province  is  performed  by  the 
Executive  instead  of  by  the  Legislative  Council,  resulting  often  in 
unsuitable  and  inconvenient  legislation.  This  Congress  therefore 
humbly  prays  that  so  long  as  Berar  is  administered  by  the  Governor- 
Gcnei-al-in-Council  all  laws  and  orders  having  the  force  of  law, 
intended  for  Berar,  should  be  enacted  by  the  Supreme  Legislative 
Council,  in  the  same  waj^  as  those  for  British  India  proper. 

Parliamentary  Representation 

XVIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  again  expi-esses  its  full 
and  unabated  confidence  in  Mr.  Dadabhoi  Naoroji  as  the  represent- 
ative of  the  people  of  India,  and  hopes  that  he  w^ill  be  re-elected  by 
his  old  Constituency  of  Central  Finsbury  or  any  other  Liberal 
Constituency. 

Thanks  of  Congress  and  Congress  Work 

XIX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  convey  to  Sir 
Willam  Wedderburn  and  the  other  members  of  the  British  Commit- 
tee its  most  grateful  thanks  for  their  disinterested  services  in  the 
cause  of  Indian  political  advancement. 

And  tliat  a  sum  of  Rs.  60,000  be  assigned  for  the  expenses  of 
the  British  Committee  and  cost  of  Congress  i3ublication,  India, 
and  also  for  the  expenses  of  the  Joint  General  Seci-etary's  Office, 
and  that  the  .several  circles  do  contribute  as  arranged,  either  now  or 
hereafter  in  Committee,  for  the  year  1898. 

Formal 

XX.  Resolved—  That  this  Congress  re-appoints  Mr.  A.  O. 
Hume,  C.B.,  to  be  General  Seci-etary  and  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  to  be 
Joint  General  Secretary  for  the  ensuing  year. 

XXI.  Resolved — That  the  Fourteenth  Indian  National  Con- 
gress do  assemble  on  such  daj^  after  Cliristmas  Day,  1898,  as  may 
later  be  determined  upon,  at  Madras. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

The  Fourteenth  Session  of  the  National  Congress 
was  held  in  Madras,  on  December  29th,  30th  and 
31st,  1898.  The  clouds  were  gathering  on  the 
political  horizon,  coercion  was  showing  its  hideous 
face,  ensuring  the  growth  of  secret  conspiracy,  and 
alienating  from  the  Government,  which  confessed  its 
weakness  by  employing  it,  all  that  was  best  and  no- 
blest in  the  land.  The  famine  and  the  plague  had 
exercised  a  depressing  influence  in  the  country,  and 
the  dislike  shown  to  the  vivifying  influence  of  English 
education  had  increased.  The  number  of  delegates 
fell  to  614,  distriljuted  as  follows  : 


Madras 

...     519 

Berar,  C.   P.  and  Hyderabad 

18 

Bombay 

...       27 

N.  W.'P 

...       11 

Beno-al  and  Assam    ... 

...       38 

Panjab 

1 

614 


The  Congress  met  on  December  29th,  and  was  wel- 
comed by  the  Chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee, 
the  Hon.  Mr.  N.  Subbarau  Pantulu,  who,  after  a  few 


THE    FOURTEENTH    CONGRESS  271 

words  referring  to  the  loss  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  the 
Maharaja  of  Darbhanga  and  Sardar  Daj-al  Singh — 
two  towers  of  strength  to  the  Congress- — ^dwelt  on  the 
value  of  the  Congress  as  an  interpreter  of  the  Indian 
mind  to  the  British  Government  and  to  England. 
He  complained  of  the  attitude  to  the  Indians  of  the 
officials,  who  saw  conspiracy  where  there  was  none, 
who  narrowed  personal  liberty  in  times  of  peace, 
brought  in  laws  against  sedition,  and  made  distinctions 
between  the  British-born  and  the  Indian  subjects  of 
the  Queen-Empress.  He  pointed  out  that  the  func- 
tion of  the  Services  was  not  to  shape  the  policy  of 
the  State,  but  only  to  carry  it  out  when  declared,  and 
that  their  inroads  on  Government  should    be  checked. 

The  Hon.  Rai  Bahadur  P.  Ananda  Charlu,  CLE., 
proposed  Mr.  Ananda  Mohan  Bose  as  President, 
Mr.  R.  N.  Mudholkar  seconded,  Mr.  John  Adam  and 
Mr.  Jaishi  Ram  supported,  and  the  election  was 
carried  by  acclamation. 

The  President  opened  his  speech  with  a  very 
beautiful  tribute  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  who  had  passed 
away  during  the  year,  and  then  said  a  few  words  on 
the  arrival  of  the  new  Viceroy,  Lord  Curzon,  who  had 
landed  at  Bombay  on  that  day,  expressing  a  hope — 
not  destined  to  be  realised — that  when  he  left  the 
counti'y,  he  might  carry  with  him  some  of  the  love 
that  followed  Mr.  Gladstone  on  leaving  the  world.  He 
then  turned  to  the  unfortunate  tendency  which  was 
showing  itself,  which  would  become  disastrous  if  not 
checked.  However  slow  progress  towards  freedom  was 
in  this  country,  it  had  at  least  been  almost  continuous. 


272  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Twenty  years  before,  tliey  had  a  brief  reaction,  in  the 
Vernacular  Press  Act  of  Lord  Lytton,.  but  it  was 
quickly  withdraw^n ;  now  they  had  had  two  years  of 
re-action,  a  reversal  of  the  wise  and  beneficent  policy 
of  the  past.  In  the  Educational  Service,  Indians  had 
been  admitted  to  the  highest  grades  on  exactly  the 
same  terms  as  Englishmen ;  about  twenty  years  ago, 
their  pay  was  reduced,  but  the  highest  grades  Avere 
still  open  to  them.  In  1896,  the  year  of  the  Diamond 
Jubilee,  they  were  excluded  from  some  of  these 
appointments  for  the  first  time,  their  status  lowered, 
and  their  pay  further  reduced.  In  this  same  year, 
the  Engineering  College  of  Eoorkee  was  closed  to 
Asiatics  of  pure  descent,  whose  domicile  was  in  one  of 
the  three  Presidencies. 

It  is  quaint  to  notice  in  this  that  Asiatics  of  impure 
descent  were  not  excluded  !  To  give  privileges  to 
illegitimacy  is  peculiar  to  the  Government  of  India. 

The  next  great  wrong  was  tlie  imprisonment  of  the 
brothers  Natu,  who  had  been  lyiug  for  18  months 
in  prison  without  trial.  England  pointed  at  Russia 
with  scum  for  similar  deeds,  and  everyone  felt  his 
personal  liberty  insecure  where  such  measures  were 
allowed.  Again,  there  was  the  new  law  of  sedition, 
and  the  changes  in  the  Criminal  Procedure  Code, 
which  put  public  sjDcakers  and  editors  of  newspapers 
on  a  level  Avith  rogues  and  vagabonds,  liable  to  be 
called  on  to  furnish  security  for  good  behaviour, 
and  allowed  a  District  Magistrate,  the  head  of  the 
police,  to  try  cases  of  sedition.  Many  other  retro- 
grade   measures   had    been  passed,   among   them   the 


THE  FOURTEENTH  CONGRESS  273 

Calcutta  Municipal  Bill,  which  proposed  to  take  away 
almost  all  power  from  a  Corporation  which  had  used 
its  powers  with  marked  success,  thus  striking  a  severe 
blow  at  Local  Self-Government.  The  President  then 
criticised  the  Frontier  policy  of  the  Government, 
crippling  by  its  cost  every  internal  reform.  What 
was  to  be  the  future  policy  of  the  Government — back- 
ward or  forward  ? 

Are  we  to  march  backwards  into  the  methods  of 
despotism,  to  the  weapons  of  coercion,  to  the  policy  of 
distrust  ■?  or  we  are  to  march  onwards  in  the  path  which 
was  traced  out  by  those  noble  Eng-lishmen  who  have  been 
the  founders,  the  consolidators,  the  saviours  of  the  Empire, 
the  path  which  leads  to  advancing  and  not  to  receding- 
freedom,  to  greater  trust  in  the  people,  to  rights  enlarged 
and  not  to  concessions  withdrawn  r* 

Alas  !  the  first  alternative  has  been  chosen,  despite 
the  one  item  of  the  Council  Reforms,  with  much  of 
their  value  juggled  out  of  them  by  the  policy  of 
distrust. 

In  a  letter  received  by  him  while  in  England,  the 
President  said,  from  a  gentleman  who  had  taken  no 
part  in  politics,  the  following  occurred  :  "  Are  you  a 
friend  to  British  Rule  ?  try  your  best  to  induce  the 
authorities  to  withdraw  the  suicidal  policy  of  Govern- 
ment. If  you  are  an  enemy,  well,  my  advice  is  keep 
quiet  and  let  things  take  their  course."  Mr.  K.  C. 
Dutt  had  lately  said  that  he  could  hardly  remember 
any  time  "  when  the  confidence  of  the  people  of  India 
in  the  justice  and  fair  play  of  English  rulers  was 
so  shaken,  as  it  has  been   within  the  last  two   years  ". 

The    President  eloquently  urged   on  the  British  ta 
give  up  coercion,  and  to 
22 


274  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

find  the  path  of  safety,  of  honour,  of  mutual  advan- 
tage, and  the  truest  and  most  abiding  glorj,  in  going 
forwards  in  fearless  confidence,  trusting  the  people, 
extending  the  bounds  of  freedom,  not  forging  new  fetters 
but  gradually  removing  those  that  exist,  not  taking  away 
but  adding  to  the  rights  of  the  people,  helping  on  the 
cause  of  India's  regeneration  with  the  passionate  longing 
and  the  loving  ardour  that  come  from  the  consciousness 
of  a  duty  and  a  solemn  responsibility  from  on  high. 
The  educated  classes  of  India  are  the  friends  and  not  the 
foes  of  England,  her  natural  and  necessary  allies  in  the 
great  work  that  lies  before  her. 

The  President  further  touched  on  various  reforms, 
and  suggested  the  direct  representation  of  India  in 
Parliament ;  urged  that  the  Congress  should  work 
continuously  throughout  the  year,  and  choose  special 
items  to  press  each  year.  He  concluded  with  a  noble 
peroration  on  "  God  and  tlie  Motherland,"  and  sat 
down  amidst  enthusiastic  applause. 

The  Subjects  Committee  was  then  approved  and 
the    Congress  adjourned. 

On  the  second  day,  December  80th,  the  first  three 
Resolutions,  expressing  grief  for  the  deaths  of 
Mr.  Gladstone,  the  Maharaja  of  Darbhanga  and  Sardar 
Dayal  Singh  were  moved  from  the  Chair  and  passed 
by  the  audience  standing  up  in  solemn  silence. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  C.  Jambnlingam  Mudaliar  moved 
Resolution  IV,  a  protest  on  the  law  of  sedition  which 
had  been  passed  in  the  Supreme  Legislative  Council 
against  the  stubborn  opposition  of  the  non-official 
members  and  an  unprecedented  agitation  in  the 
■  country.  He  traced  the  history  of  laws  against  sedi- 
,tion,  and  the  iiitroduct ir)n    of  the  words   "hatred   and 


THE  FOURTEENTH  CONGRESS  275 

contempt,"  which  included  all  criticism  of  Govern- 
ment, since  criticism  implied  that  the  action  criticised 
was  against  sound  reason  or  common  sense ;  also 
Indian  Native  subjects,  not  Eurasian  or  Anglo-Indian, 
might  be  punished  on  return  home  for  words  spoken 
abroad.  The  eifect  of  this  and  of  the  "  good 
behaviour  "  clauses  was  that  an  Empire  which  had 
been  consolidated  "  by  confidence  and  goodwill  has 
been  converted  into  a  Government  of  suspicion  and 
distrust.  ...  A  permanent  bitterness  of  feeling  has 
taken  root  over  the  land,  over  its  whole  length  and 
breadth."  He  concluded  with  a  hope  that  the  new 
Viceroy  would  repeal  "  the  iniquitous  legislation  of  his 
predecessor ".  Mr.  Tarapadu  Bannerji  seconded, 
and  the  Resolution  was  supported  by  Pandit  K.  P. 
Kavyabisharad  and  Mr.  T.  Venkatasubba  Iyer,  and 
carried. 

Resolution  V  welcomed  Lord  Curzon  and  expressed 
a  hope  that  he  would  govern  according  to  the  best 
traditions  of  British  rule  ;  it  was  moved  by  the  Hon. 
Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji,  who,  referring  to  speeches 
delivered  in  England  by  the  new  Viceroy,  said  that 
these  speeches  inspired  a  hope  that  Lord  Curzon's 
name  might  be  linked  with  those  of  Bentinck,  Canning 
and  Ripon.  Such  was  the  friendly  feeling  which  Lord 
Curzon  changed  into  bitter  hatred.  The  Resolution 
was  seconded  by  Nawab  Syed  Muhammad  Bahadur, 
supported  by  the  Hon.  Rai  Bahadur  P.  Ananda 
Charlu    and    the  Hon.  Mr.  D.   S.  Garud,  and  carried. 

Resolution  VI,  on  Permanent  Settlement,  was 
moved    bv   Mr.   G.  Venkataratnam,  who  showed  how 


276  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

the  promises  of  Government  as  regards  the  land  had 
been  treated  as  waste  paper,  and  pointed  out  that 
the  ryotwari  tenure  had  been  so  changed  as  to  have 
lost  its  valuable  characteristics.  Mr.  M.  R.  Bodas 
seconded,  and  dealt  with  the  retrograde  land  policy 
in  Bombay,  shown  by  the  legislation.  The  Khots 
were  being  forced  to  give  up  their  villages,  because 
the  assessments  they  were  compelled  to  pay  to  the 
Government  were  far  higher  than  the  rents  they 
received  from  their  tenants.  A  Khot  who  received 
Rs.  700  for  a  village  had  to  pay  Rs.  2,000,  and  so 
the  Khots  gave  up  the  villages  and  the  Government 
attached  them.  By  legislation  the  Government  were 
confiscating  private  property  enjoyed  for  long,  and 
under  sanads  from  Musalman  Emperors.  The 
Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  VII  dealt  with  the  Frontier  policy  of 
the  Government,  and  was  moved  in  a  spirited  speech 
by  Mr.  G.  Subramania  Iyer,  who  condemned  "  this 
mischievous  and  dangerous  Frontier  policy  ....  a 
policy  prompted  by  that  spirit  of  aggression  abroad 
and  repression  at  home  which  has  prevailed  for  some 
time  ".  All  improvements  at  home  were  starved  for 
want  of  the  funds  wasted  in  foolish  aggression.  If 
the  wars  were  made  for  Imperial  purposes  then  let 
Britain  pay  the  cost,  and  leave  Indian  money  to  be 
spent  on  Indian  needs.  Mr.  Charu  Chandra  Ghose 
seconded,  quoting  English  opinion,  civil  and  military, 
against  the  forward  policy,  and  asking  the  Government 
to  return  to  the  policy  of  Lord  Lawrence  and  Lord 
I^ipoii,  and    find  a  scneiitiflc  frontier  in  the  hearts  of  a 


THE  rOURTEENTH  CONGRESS  277 

loyal    and    contented     people.     The    Resolution    was 
carried. 

Mr.  W.  A.  Chambers,  in  moving  Resolution  VIII, 
against  the  establishment  of  Secret  Press  Committees, 
said  that,  as  an  Englishman,  he  could  not  understand 
such  an  institution  being  established  in  any  country 
administered  by  his  countrymen.  He  gave  as  an 
example  an  article  published  in  the  Bombay  Pre- 
sidency, which  had  drawn  down  on  the  Editor  a 
letter  from  his  Magistrate  ;  the  article  and  letter 
were  sent  to  Sir  William  Wedderburn,  and  came 
into  his  own  hands.  He  took  them  to  the  Editor 
of  a  large  London  paper,  who  characterised  the 
article  as  innocent,  and  the  letter  as  "  monstrous  ". 
He  said  to  the  Editor :  "  This  is  the  sort  of 
thing  that  is  takiug  place,  not  in  Russia,  not  in 
Germany,  but  in  a  country  for  whose  Government 
you  and  I  are  responsible."  In  his  own  paper,  he 
had  always  been  ready  to  correct  any  mistake  he  had 
unwittingly  made,  and  all  Indian  Editors  would  do 
the  same  if  treated  with  courtesy  and  candour.  Mr. 
N.  C.  Kelkar  seconded,  and  asked  for  the  indignant 
vote  of  the  Congress  against  "  the  hateful  institution 
of  the  Press  Committees,  which  are  only  a  thinly 
veiled  Press  censorship,  and  as  such  a  distinct  dis- 
grace to  British  Rule  in  India  ".  They  were  part  of 
the  re-actionary  policy  adopted  by  the  Government, 
the  natural  sequel  of  the  amendments  to  the  criminal 
law.     The  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  IX  continued  the  protest  against  re- 
action, this  time  with  regard  to  Local  Self-Government, 


278  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

by  the  introduction  of  the  Calcutta  Municipal  Bill 
and  the  Bombay  City  Improvement  Trust.  Mr.  G.  S. 
Khaparde  moved  it,  remarking  that  Lord  Ripon 
inaugurated  a  policy  of  Locail  Self-Government, 
but  the  executive  officers  spoiled  it  in  carrying 
it  out.  To  Calcutta  they  gave  a  "  Master-Servant/' 
in  the  shape  of  an  appointed  Chairman  who 
controlled  everything,  and  to  Bombay  a  "  Ser- 
vant-Master," a  Municipal  Commissioner  who  acted 
as  a  paid  Secretary  but  did  not  take  his  orders  from 
his  employers ;  thus,  he  declined  on  one  occasion 
to  produce  the  records  of  tlie  Municipality  for  the 
inspection  of  the  Municipality  !  Mr.  Khaparde  made 
a  thorough  and  witty  exposure  of  the  devices  of  the 
officials  to  make  Self-Government  a  sham.  Mr.  J. 
Choudliuri  seconded,  remarking  that  the  fault  of  the 
Calcutta  Corpot-ation  was  that  they  did  too  much  and 
wore  out  their  official  chairman.  The  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor complained  "  that  they  were  over-zealous,  they  did 
their  duties  with  a  great  amount  of  self-sacrifice  and 
zeal,  and  that  the  Commissioner  could  not  keep  pace 
with  them ".  Mr.  B.  S,  Sahasrabuddhe  supported, 
and  noted  that  in  Poona  the  number  of  nominated 
members  had  been  increased,  and  the  candidates 
rejected  l)y  the  people  had  been  nominated  by  the 
G()\cniiiiciir.      The  Kc^solution  was  carried. 

Resolution  IX,  in  favour  of  the  separation  of  Exe- 
cutive and  Judicial  functions,  was  put  from  the  Chair 
and  carried. 

Resolutioji  \,  for  tlie  reorganisation  of  the  Civil 
and    ^lilitary   Medical   Service,  so    closely  associated 


THE  FOURTEENTH  CONGRESS  279 

with  the  name  of  Dr.  Bahadur ji,  was  moved  by 
Dr.  Nih-atan  Sirkar,  seconded  by  Dr.  T.  M.  Nair,  and 
carried,  with  a  rider  expressing  grief  at  the  loss 
sustained  by  the  Congress  and  the  country  in  the 
untimely  death  of  Dr.  K.  N.  Bahadurji. 

Mr.  Gr.  Parameshvaram  Pillai  moved  Resolution 
XII,  protesting  against  the  disabilities  inflicted  on 
Indians  in  South  Africa,  showing  how  they  were 
becoming  greater  as  time  went  on.  In  1894,  they 
were  deprived  of  the  franchise  in  Natal,  the  disabili- 
ties of  Indians  in  their  own  country  being  carried 
over  to  Natal.  In  1897,  the  law  compelled  them 
"  to  choose  between  perpetual  bondage  and  an  odious 
poll-tax ".  Mr.  (iandhi  had  begun  his  agitation 
— none  knew  then  how  far  it  would  go — and  three 
additional  disabling  Acts  had  been  passed,  in  which 
Indians  were  not  named,  the  Colonists  being  ashamed 
openly  to  take  so  unfair  a  course,  but  the  Prime 
Minister  of  Natal,  Mr.  Harry  Escombe,  was  not 
ashamed  to  say  that  "  no  Government  dreamt  of 
applying  the  law  to  Europeans.  .  .  .  The  object, 
however,  was  to  deal  with  Asiatics.  Some  people 
said  they  liked  an  honest  straightforward  course. 
When  a  ship  was  heading  against  a  wind  she 
had  to  tack,  and  by-and-bye  she  reached  her 
goal.  When  a  man  met  difficulties  he  fought  against 
them,  and,  if  he  could  not  knock  them  over,  he  went 
round  them,  instead  of  breaking  his  head  against  a 
brick  wall."  The  Transvaal  Republic  was  restricting 
them  to  "  locations,"  and  these  were  assigned  to 
them  outside  the  towns,    where  refuse    was  shot,   and 


280  HOW    INDIA    WKOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

they  had  "to  reside  in  these  places  amongst 
dung-heaps  ".  In  some  Colonies  they  might  not 
Avalk  on  footpaths,  nor  travel  in  1st  or  2nd  class 
raihvay  carriages,  nor  possess  native  gold,  nor 
be  out  after  9  p.  in.,  nor  travel  without  passes.  The 
Viceroy,  Lord  Elgin,  consented  to  the  cruel  Natal 
law,  which  11  years  before,  had  been  declared 
to  be  "  a  grievous  wrong,"  to  which  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  Avould  never  consent.  The 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  Mr.  Joseph 
Chamberlain,  had  pi'omised  help,  but  had  never  given 
it.  The  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  Lord  George 
Hamilton  had  "  characterised  us  as  a  nation  of 
savages,"  so  no  help  could  be  looked  for  from  him. 

I  think  it  is  a  standino'  disg-race  ....  a  shame  and  a 
scandal  that  we,  Her  Majesty's  beloved  subjects,  who  are 
competent  enough  to  compete  with  her  English  subjects 
in  Great  Britain  and  enter  the  House  of  Commons,  should 
be  treated  as  an  inferior  order  of  beings,  fit  only  to  be 
hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water  to  the  domineering 
white  population  in  the  Colonies. 

The  Resolution  was  seconded  by  Mr.  R.  D. 
Nagarhar,  supported  by  Mr.  Ramesan  and  carried. 
The  Congress  then  adjourned. 

The  third  day,  December  31st,  began  with  the 
reading  of  a  telegram  of  thanks  from  Lord  Curzon  to 
the  Congress  "for  their  cordial  message  of  welcome  ". 
It  is  pathetic  to  read  of  Lord  Curzon  expressing  the 
hope  that,  when  he  left  India,  some  one  present  at  his 
arrival  miglit  ]>e  able  "to  testify  that  during  my 
time  I  have  done  something,  if  it  even  be  but  little, 
for    tliis   land   which,    next    to    my    own    country,    is 


THE  FOURTEENTH  CONGRESS  281 

nearest  to  ray  heart".  Who  then  imagined  that  in 
1905,  Mr.  Gokhale,  as  President  of  the  Congress, 
would  declare  that  Lord  Curzon's  rule  had  been 
the  worst  India  had  suffered  under  since  that  of 
Aurungzeb  ? 

After  the  reading  of  other  telegi-ams,  Resolution  X 
was  moved  by  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha,  on  what  may  be  called 
his  own  subject,  the  Indian  Currency  question.  He 
said  that  few  realised  how  much  each  person  was 
affected  by  alterations  in  the  currency,  for  the 
subject  was  highly  technical  and  difficult  of  apprehen- 
sion. The  Amended  Coinage  Act  of  1893,  closing 
the  mints  to  the  free  coinage  of  silver,  passed  in  half 
an  hour  ])y  the  Simla  Legislature,  without  any  re- 
presentative of  India  being  summoned,  was  the 
starting  point  of  a  wrong  course.  It  was  the  Home 
(Foreign)  Charges  that  were  the  disease,  not  the 
currency.  Then  came  attempts  to  fix  exchange  value 
and  to  prop  it  up  by  the  Grold  Bill.  Frontier  policy, 
famine  and  plague  exhausted  the  cash  balances. 
Mr.  Wacha  analysed  the  financial  conditions,  and 
showed  that  unwise  polic}^,  not  currency,  was  the  root 
of  Indian  distress.  Mr.  G.  Subramania  Iyer  seconded, 
pointing  out  that  Government  looked  only  to  ex- 
change, Anglo-Indian  merchants  only  to  trade  ;  none 
considered  the  people.  Taxes  were  levied  in  silver,  and 
the  ryot  would  have  to  sell  60  per  cent  more  of  his 
produce  to  gain  the  inflated  value  of  the  rupee.  He 
did  not  regard  the  great  flow  of  English  capital  into 
the  country  as  an  advantage,  for  it  increased  the 
"  drain " ;     Indian    capital    should   be    invested    here, 


282  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

and  then  the  gain  would  be  real.  The  Resolution 
was  carried. 

Resolution  XIV,  on  the  composition  of  the  Executive 
Councils  of  Bombay  and  Madras,  was  again  brought 
up  ;  Mr.  V.  Krishnaswami  Iyer  proposed,  Professor 
Paranjpe  seconded  it,  and  it  was  carried. 

In  Resolution  XV  the  demand  for  the  repeal  of  the 
three  objectionable  Regulations  of  1818,  '19  and  '21 
was  once  more  urged — they  still  flourish  ! — this  time 
by  Mr.  P.  R.  Sundara  Iyer.  There  was  nothing  new 
to  be  said  about  it  by  him,  or  by  Mr.  John  Adam 
the  seconder,  or  by  Rai  Nalinaksha  Basu  Bahadur,  the 
supporter,  and  it  was  once  more  passed.  Then  the 
President  put  Resolutions  XVI  and  XVII,  on  Simulta- 
neous Examinations  and  the  Press  (ragging  Act 
respectively,  and  they  were  carried.  Mr.  R.  N. 
Mudholkar  proposed  Resolution  XA^IIl,  in  favour  of 
Technical  Education ;  it  was  seconded  by  Mr.  M. 
Baikunthanath  Sen,  supported  by  four  other  speakers 
and  carried. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Batnasabhapati  Pillai  moved 
Resolution  XIX,  on  the  Constitution  and  working  of 
the  Congress,  asking  the  Standing  Committee  to  form 
Provincial  Committees,  and  appointing  a  Committee 
to  consider  the  draft  Constitution  circulated  by 
the  Reception  Committee  of  Madras,  and  submit  a 
definite  scheme  to  the  next  Congress,  to  be  the  first 
subject  of  discussion.  'I'lie  Hon.  ^Mr.  Surendranath 
Banner ji  seconded,  Mr.  Ashvini  Kumara  Dutt  and 
Mr.  M.  V.  Joshi  supported,  and  the  Resolution  was 
cari'ied. 


ft 


THE  FOURTEENTH  CONGRESS  283 

Resolution  XX,  the  Omnibus,  had  passengers  (a)  to 
(g)  despite  those  put  from  the  Chair ;  it  was  moved  by 
Mr.  Grubb,  seconded  by  Mr.  John  Adam,  supported  by 
Messrs.  Habibulla  Sahab,  and  A.  C.  Parthasaradhi 
Naidu,  and  carried.  Resolution  XXI,  thanking  the 
Government  for  granting  a  Legislative  Council  for  the 
Panjab  and  regretting  that  its  powers  were  smaller 
than  those  of  other  Provinces,  and  Resolution  XXII, 
on   Legislation  for  Berar,  were  put  from  the   Chair. 

Then  Mr.  A^.  C.  Desikachariar  moved  Resolution 
XXIII,  asking  that  plague  expenditure  should  come 
out  of  Government  and  not  out  of  local  funds  ;  it  was 
seconded  by  Mr.  G.  B.  Phansalkar,  and  carried. 
Resolution  XXIV,  renewing  the  expression  of  con- 
fidence in  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji,  Avas  moved,  seconded 
and  carried.  The  President  put  from  the  Chair 
Resolution  XXV,  the  annual  vote  of  thanks  to  Sir 
William  AVedderburn  and  the  British  Committee,  and 
the  funds  for  the  latter,  and  also  Resolution  XXVI, 
reappointing  Messrs.  A.  0.  Hume  and  D.  E.  Wacha 
as  General  and  -Joint  General  Secretaries.  Resolution 
XXVII  accepted  the  invitation  of  Lucknow  for  the 
next  Session  of  the  Congress,  and  Resolution  XXVIII 
moved  by  Mr.  Bhupendranath  Basu,  thanked  the 
Reception  Committee  and  the  A^olunteers. 

The  last  Resolution,  No.  XXIX,  conveying  a  vote 
of  thanks  to  the  President,  was  moved  by  Mr.  G. 
Subramania  Iyer  and  unanimously  passed.  The 
President  acknowledged  it,  in  an  eloquent  and 
touching  speech,  and  the  Fourteenth  National 
Congi'ess  was  dissolved. 


284  now    IXDIA    WKOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

RESOLUTIONS 
The  Grief  of  Congress 

WiHiain  Eivart  Gladstone 

\.  Resolvod — That  this  Cong-ress  records  its  profound  rpijret 
at  the  irreparable  loss  that  the  British  Empire  and  the  civilised 
■world  at  larjre  have  sustained  l)y  the  death  of  Mr.  W.  E.  Gladstone, 
the  ufreatest  statesman  of  modern  times,  and  a  warm  and  genuine 
friend  of  humanity,  and  desires  to  express  its  sense  of  gratitude  for 
the  sympathy  which  he  unil'ormh' evinced  towards  the  efforts  of  the 
Indian  people  in  securing  a  more  liberal  and  progressive  Govern- 
ment in  India;  and  that  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolution  be  for- 
warded to  his  son,  Mr.  Herbert  Gladstone. 

Maharaja  of  Darbhaiiya 

II.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  deeply  mourns  the  great 
loss  the  country  has  suffered  by  the  sad  and  untimely  death  of  the 
late  Maharaja  of  Darbhanga,  Sir  Lakshmessur  Singh  Bahadur, 
G.C.I.E.  The  Congress  places  on  record  its  high  appreciation  of 
his  ready  and  enlightened  public  spirit  and  his  liberal  and  catholic 
benefactions,  and  desires  to  give  expression  to  its  feeling  of  grati- 
tude for  the  generous  and  unfailing  support  which  the  Congress 
movement  received  at  his  hands ;  and  that  a  copy  of  tlie  foregoing 
resolution  be  forwai-ded  to  Maharaja  Ranieshwar  Singh,  the 
brother  of  the  deceased  Maharaja. 

Daijal  Singli 

III.  Resolved  —That  this  Congress  expresses  its  profound  grief 
for  the  great  loss  which  the  people  of  the  country  in  general  and 
those  of  the  I'anjab  in  particular  have  sustained  by  the  death  of  the 
late  Sardar  Dayal  Singii  oi  Lahore,  and  places  on  record  its  high 
api)reciation  of  the  public  spirit  and  tiie  liberal  suppt>rt  he  gave  in 
furtiierance  of  the  progressive  movements  whii'li  tended  to  ame- 
liorate the  condition  of  the  Natives  of  India. 

[See  also  (o)  of  Res.  XI.] 

Coercion 

Criminal   P roved n re 

IV.  Resolved— That  this  Congress  regrets,  that,  in  despite  of  its 
jirotest  at  its  last  sitting  and  the  protest  of  many  public  bodies  and 
eminent  men,  English  and  Indian,  the  amendments  proposed  in  the 
Indian  Penal  Ctxle,  and  the  Criminal  Procedure  Code,  which  are 
calculated  to  unduly  enlarge  the  powers  of  the  Police  and  of  the 
.Magisti-aey,  to  fetter  the  freedom  of  the  Press  and  to  restrict  liberty 


THE  rOURTEENTH  CONGRESS  285 

of   speech,    have    been     carried    tlirouijli    tlie    Tiiiperial    Legislative 
Council,  and  urges  their  repeal. 

Press 

VIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  strongly  of  opinion  that 
the  establishment  of  Secret  Press  Committees  in  certain  parts  of 
India  is  highly  objectionable  and  inconsistent  with  the  spirit  of 
British  administration. 

XVII.  Resolved — That  the  Government  of  India  Xotification 
of  25th  June,  1891,  in  the  Foi-eign  Department,  gagging  the  Press 
in  territories  under  British  adniinistration  in  Native  States,  is 
retrograde,  arbitrary  and  mischievous  in  its  nature,  and  opposed  to 
sound  statesmanship  and  to  the  liberty  of  the  poeple,  and  ought  to 
be  cancelled  without  delay. 

Lettres  de    Cachet 

XV.  Resolved- -That  this  Congress  respectfully  ui'ges  upon 
the  Government  the  necessity  of  repealing  Bengal  Regulation  III 
of  1818,  Madras  Regulation  il  of  1819,  and  Bombay  Regulation 
XXV  of  1827,  inasmuch  as  the  principle  and  pi-ovisions  thereof 
are  contrary  to  the  traditions  and  sense  of  justice  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  Her  Most  Gi-acious  Majesty,  and  indeed  of  all  ci\ilised 
Governments,  and  inasmuch  as  they  are  a  standing  menace  to  the 
liberty  of  the  subject. 

Lord  Curzon 

V.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  accords  a  respectful 
welcome  to  Loi-d  Curzon,  notes  with  gi-atitude  His  Lordship's  words 
of  sympathy  for  the  people  of  India,  and  trusts  the  policy  of 
progress  and  confidence  in  the  people  which  has  characterised  the 
best  traditions  of  British  rule  in  this  country  will  be  followed 
during  his  Lordship's  tenure  of  office  in  India,  and  authorises  the 
President  to  wire  the  foregoing  resolution  to  His  Lordship  at 
Bombay. 

Permanent  Settlement 

VI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  regrets  e.xtreuiely  that  the 
Government  of  India  have  failed  not  only  to  carry  out  the  pledges 
(given  by  the  Secretary  of  State  in  his  desi)atches  of  1862  and  1865) 
for  Permanent  Settlement  in  the  Provinces  in  which  it  does  not  exist 
but  also  to  give  effect  to  the  policy  of  granting  the  modified  fi.titv 
of  tenure  and  immunity  from  enhancement  laid  down  in  1882  and 
1884  by  the  Government  of  India,  and  this  Congress  hereby 
entreats  the  Government  to  grant  a  modified  fixity  of  tenure  and 
immunity  from  enhancement  of  land-tax  for  a  sufficiently  long- 
period  of  not  less  than  sixty  years,  so  as  to  secure  to  land-holders 
the  full  benefit  of  their  own  iTujirovements. 


286  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOE    TREEDOM 

Military 

VII.  Eesolved — That  this  Congress  expresses  its  deep  and 
earnest  conviction  that  the  Frontier  policy  pursu?d  for  some  years 
past  by  the  Government  of  India  is  injurious  to  its  best  interests, 
inasmuch  as  it  involves  this  country  in  frequent  military  expedi- 
tions beyond  its  natural  limits  and  the  practical  starvation  of  the 
civil  administration ;  and  that,  as  long  as  the  policy  is  not  radically 
reversed,  and  a  retui-n  made  to  the  older  and  the  only  safe  policy 
of  keeping  within  the  statutor^^  limits  of  the  country,  all 
declarations,  no  matter  however  confidently  made,  about  the  cessa- 
tion of  frontier  troubles  and  the  friendly  attitude  of  frontier  tribes, 
are  entitled  to  little  weight,  as  evidenced  by  the  occurrences  of  the 
last  few  weeks  in  the  Swat  Valley  which  necessitated  the  holding 
in  readiness  of  a  considerable  body  of  troops  imposing  fresh  burdens 
on  the  Exchequer ;  and  that  of  all  the  expenditure  wViich  these 
military  expeditions  may  involve,  an  adequate  share  should  be 
borne  bj'  the  British  Exchequer. 

Local  Self-Government 

TX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  expresses  its  deep  sense  of 
disapproval  of  the  reactionary  policy  of  Government  with  regard 
to  Local  Self-Governmcnt  recently  inaugurated  by  the  introduction 
of  the  Calcutta  Municipal  Bill  into  the  Bengal  Legislative  Council, 
the  creation  of  the  Bombay  City  Improvement  Trust  without 
adequate  popular    representation,   and  its  action  in  other  directions. 

Legal 

X.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  notices  with  satisfaction  the 
support  of  public  opinion  both  in  England  and  in  India,  which  the 
question  of  the  separation  of  Judicial  from  Executive  functious  in 
the  administration  of  justice  has  received  ;  and  this  Congress  once 
again  appeals  to  the  Government  of  India  and  the  Secretary  of 
State  to  take  practical  steps  for  speedily  carrying  out  this  much- 
needed  reform. 

Public  Service 


1  l*^j      •ii.'»-»j»\^i4.i         »^'-«  t*v..t».iy*w»*  t>  IJliA      I>11.<^      rj.\^  V  CAILK^V}  III  Kilt  u     yj  L      LllC      lilC:^*H-'l*i.     O^i    V  l\J\^ 

and  scientific  work  in  the  country,  as  also  in  the  cause  of  ec(momic 
administration,  the  Civil  Medical  Service  of  India  should  be 
reconstructed  on  the  basis  of  such  Service  in  other  civilised 
countries,    wholly    detached    from  and  independent  of,  the  Military 


Service 


THE  FOURTEENTH  CONGRESS  287 

(6)  That  whilst  this  Congress  views  with  satisfaction  the 
action  of  the  Imperial  Government  in  throwing  open  19  Civil  Sur- 
geoncies to  be  filled  up  by  promotion  from  the  ranks  of  Civil  Assist- 
ant Surgeons,  it  deplores  nevertheless  the  unsatisfactory  jDOsition 
and  prospects  of  members  of  the  Subordinate  Civil  Medical  Service 
(Civil  Assistant  Surgeons  and  Civil  Hospital  Assistants)  compared 
with  the  members  of  similar  standing  in  other  departments  of  the 
Public  Service,  and  prays  that  Government  will  grant  an  open 
inquiiy  into  the  present  constitution  of  the  Subordinate  Civil 
Medical  department  by  a  mixed  commission  of  official  and  non- 
official  members. 

(r)  That  in  this  connection  the  Congress  desires  to  place  on 
record  its  sense  of  loss  the  Congress  and  the  country  have  sustained 
by  the  untimely  death  of  the  late  Dr.  K.  N.  Bahadurji,  of  Bombay, 
the  last  years  of  whose  life  were  devoted  to  the  promotion  of  the 
reform  of  the  Medical  Services  in  this  country. 

XIV.  Resolved — That,  having  regard  to  the  wisdom  of  the  policy 
of  appointing  to  the  Governorships  of  Madras  and  Bombay  statesmen 
from  England  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Services  in  India,  this  Congress 
is  of  opinion  that  it  is  desirable  that  the  Executive  Governments  of 
those  Provinces  should  be  administered  by  Governors  with  Councils 
of  three  and  not  of  two  members,  as  at  present,  and  that  one  of  the 
three  Councillors  should  be  a  Native  of  India. 

XVI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  again  records  its  deep 
regret  that  the  labours  of  the  Public  Service  Commission  have 
practically  proved  void  of  any  good  result  to  the  people  of  this 
country,  and  urges  the  desirability  of  holding  the  competitive 
examinations  for  the  Indian  Civil  Services,  viz.,  Civil,  Medical, 
Police,  Engineering,  Telegraph,  Forest  and  Accounts,  both  in  India 
and  in  England,  in  accordance  with  the  Resolution  of  the  House  of 
Commons  of  the  2nd  June,  1893.  This  Congress  further  points  out 
that  in  regard  to  the  employment  of  Indians  in  the  higher  ranks  of 
the  Postal,  Salt,  and  Abkari  and  Forest  Services,  the  recommend- 
ations of  the  Public  Service  Commission  have  not  been  adequately 
carried  out,  and  prays  that  in  all  ranks  of  the  said  Services  more 
educated  Indians  should  be  employed. 

South  Africa 

XII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  deplores  the  invidious  and 
humiliating  distinctions  made  between  Indian  and  European  Sett- 
lers in  South  Africa,  a  prominent  instance  of  which  is  afforded  by 
the  recent  decision  of  the  Transvaal  High  Court  restricting  Indians 
to  "locations,"  and  appeals  to  Her  Majesty's  Government  and  the 
Government  of  India  to  guard  the  interests  of  Indian  settlers,  and 
to  i-elieve  them  of  the  disabilities  imposed  on  them. 


288  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Monetary 

XIII.  Resolved — (a)  That,  hav^ing  regai-d  to  the  fact  that 
the  principal  cause  of  the  loss  by  exchange  is  the  steady  growth  in 
the  demands  on  India  for  expenditure  in  England,  this  Congress  is 
of  opinion  that  any  artificial  device  for  meeting  that  loss  either  by 
changing  the  currency  at  a  heavy  cost  or  contracting  the  internal 
currency  must  add  to  the  pressure  of  India's  monetary  resources 
and  to  her  trading  disadvantage. 

(b)  That  the  only  real  relief  lies  in  carrying  out  practically 
the  principle,  affirmed  by  competent  authorities,  of  England  bearing 
an  equitable  share  of  that  expenditure. 

(c)  That  the  Congress  regrets  that,  save  Mr.  Romesh 
Chandra  Dutt  and  Mr.  Merwanji  Rastamji,  competent  and  qualified 
Indian  representatives  have  not  yet  been  invited  as  witnesses  to 
represent  the  Indian  view  of  matters  on  the  subject  which  now 
engages  the  attention  of  the  Currency  Committee  of  which  Sir 
Henry  Fowler  is  the  President. 

(fZ)  That  the  President  be  authorised  to  request  Sir  William 
Wedderburn,  Cliairman  of  the  British  Congress  Committee,  to  com- 
municate this  Resolution  to  Sir  Henry  Fowler,  Chairman  of  the 
Currency  Committee  in  London. 

Education 

XVIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  places  on  record  its  deep 
conviction  that  the  system  of  technical  education  now  in  vogue  is  in- 
adequate and  unsatisfactory,  and  ijray^  that,  having  regard  to  the 
poverty  of  the  people  and  the  decline  of  indigenous  industries,  the 
(xovernment  will  introduce  a  more  elaborate  and  efficient  scheme  of 
technical  instruction,  imd  set  apart  more  funds  for  a  better  and 
more  successful  working  of  the  same. 

Congress  Work 

XIX.  Resolved — {<i)  That  all  the  Standing  Congi-ess  Commit- 
tees be  requested  to  form  Central  Committees  in  their  respective 
Provinces,  for  the  appointment  of  agents  and  adoption  of  other 
measures,  for  furthering  the  objects  of  the  Congress,  such  Central 
Committees  submitting  annually  at  the  meeting  of  the  Congress  a 
report  of  the  work  carried  out  in  their  Provinces  during  the  year. 

(h)  That  the  Standing  Congi-ess  Committees  at  Madi'as, 
Bomljay,  Nagpur,  Amraoti,  Calcutta,  Allahabad  and  Lahore  be 
requested  to  take  measures  to  give  early  effect  to  this  Resolution. 

(c)  And  further  that  a  Committee  consisting  of  the 
following  gentlemen,  exclusive  of  the  President  and  ex-Presidents 
now    in    India,    who    sliall    be    ex  officio    members,    be  appointed  to 


THE  FOURTEENTH  CONGRESS  289 

consider  the  draft  constitution  circulated  by  the  Reception 
Committee  of  Madras  and  submit  a  definite  scheme  to  the  next 
Congress,  and  that  this  do  form  the  first  subject  of  discussion  at 
the  next  meeting  of  the  Congress  : 

(1)  Mr.  Aswini  Kumara  Dutt,  Bengal. 

(2)  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha,  Bombay. 
(3')     Mr.  Jaishi  Ram,  Panjab. 

(4)  Mr.  Ganga  Prasad  Varma,  Oudh. 

(5)  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  MalaWya,  North-West  Provinces. 

(6)  Mr.  Raghunath  Pandiu-ang  Karandikarof  Satara. 

(7)  Mr.  Bapu  Rao  Dada,  Central  Provinces. 

(8)  Mr.  Gr.  Subramania  Iyer,  Madras. 

(9)  Mr.  R.  X.  Mudholkar,  Berar,  to  act  as  Secretary  to  the 

Committee. 

Confirmation  of  PreYious  Resolutions 

XX.  Resolved — (I)  That  this  Congress  concurs  with  previous 
Congresses  in  strongly  advocating — [1897  (n) — (s')]. 

That  this  Congress,  concurring  with  previous  Congresses 
records  its  protest:  [1897  (a)  (h)  ((?)]• 

And  that  this  Congi-ess,  concurring,  etc.  [1897  (b)  (c)  (d)  (e)  as 
(a)  (b)  (c)  (d)  and  (e)]  That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  it  is 
desirable  in  the  interests  of  the  people  of  this  country  that  the 
Criminal  Procedure  Code  should  be  so  amended  as  to  confer  upon 
the  accused  persons,  who  are  Natives  of  India,  the  right  of  claiming, 
in  trials  by  Jury,  before  the  High  Court  and  in  trials  with  the  aid 
of  assessors,  that  not  less  than  half  the  number  of  the  Jury,  before 
the  High  Court,  and  in  trials  with  the  aid  of  assessors,  that  not  less 
than  half  the  number  of  the  Jury  or  of  the  assessors  shall  be  Natives 
of  India. 

(/)  That  the  action  of  the  Forest  Department,  under  the  rules 
framed  by  the  Different  Provincial  Governments,  prejudicially 
affects  the  inhabitants  of  the  rural  parts  of  the  country  by  subject- 
ing them  to  the  annoyance  and  oppression  of  Forest  subordinates  in 
various  ways,  which  have  led  to  much  discontent  throughout  the 
country  :  that  though  the  objects  of  forest  conservancy,  as  announced 
in  the  Resolution  of  1 894,  are  declared  to  be,  not  to  seciire  the  largest 
revenue,  but  to  conserve  the  forests  in  the  interest  chiefly  of  the 
agricultural  classes  and  of  their  cattle,  the  existing  set  of  rules 
subordinates  the  latter  consideration  to  the  former,  and  an  amend- 
ment of  the  rules  with  a  view  to  correct  this  mischief  is,  in  the 
Opinion  of  the  Congress,  urgently  called  for. 

(g)  That  the  minimum  income  assessable  under  the  Income- 
Tax  Act,  be  raised  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand. 

23 


290  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Legislative  Council  (Panjab) 

XXI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  while  thanking  the 
Government  (as  in  Resolntion  XV,  1897.) 

Berar   Legislation 

XXII.  Resolved — That  the  Province  of  Berar,  though  not  a 
part  of  British  India,  (as  in  Resolution  XVI,  1897.) 

Plague  Expenditure 

XXIII.  Resolved — That  the  adoption  of  measures  against  the 
plague  being  a  matter  of  imperial  concern  and  recognised  as  such, 
this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  expenditure  incurred  in 
connection  thereof  should  be  borne  by  the  Government  and  not 
charged  to  the  funds  of  the  local  bodies. 

Parliamentary   Representation 

XXIV.  Resolved — Tliat  this  Congress  again  expresses  its 
full  -and  unabated  confidence  in  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji  as  the 
representative  of  the  people  of  India,  and  hopes  that  he  will  be  re- 
elected by  his  old  Constituency  of  Central  Finsbury  or  any  other 
Libei-al  Constituency. 

Thanks  of  Congress  and  Congress  Work 

XXV.  Resolved — That  this  Congi-ess  desires  to  convey  to  Sir 
William  Wedderbtirn  and  the  other  members  of  the  British 
Committee  its  most  grateful  thanks  for  their  disinterested  services 
in  the  cause  of  Indian  political  advancement. 

And  that  a  sum  of  Rs.  60,000  be  assigned  for  the  expenses  of 
the  British  Committee  and  the  cost  of  the  Congress  publication 
India,  and  also  for  the  expenses  of  the  Joint  General  Secretary's 
Office,  and  that  the  several  circles  do  conti-ibute,  as  arranged,  either 
now  or  hereafter  in  Committee,  for  the  year  1899. 

Formal 

XXVI.  Resolved— That  this  Congress  re-appoints  Mr.  A.  O. 
Hume,  C.  B.,  to  be  General  Secretary,  and  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  to  he 
Joint  General  Secretary  for  the  ensuing  year. 

XXVII.  Resolved— That  the  Fifteenth  Indian  National  Con- 
gress do  assemble,  at  Lucknow,  on  such  day  after  Christmas  Day 
in  1899,  as  may  be  later  determined  upon. 


CHAPTER  XV 

In  tlie  ebb  and  flow  of  Anglo-Indian  feeling  against 
the  National  Congress,  efforts  to  embarrass  it  were  at 
first  made  in  Lucknow,  but  these  were  put  an  end  to 
by  the  wise  and  liberal  action  of  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  Sir  Antony  MacDonnell,  who  in  this  matter 
showed  a  liberality  which  he  has  since,  unhappily, 
left  behind.  A  ver}^  good  feature  was  the  presence 
of  no  less  than  300  Muhammadan  delegates  from 
Lucknow  alone.  The  Pandal,  erected  in  the  Shahmina 
ground,  accommodated  some  4,000  persons,  and  was 
fully  crowded  when  the  Congress  met.  The  President 
elect,  Mr.  Romesh  Chandra  Dutt,  had  a  splendid 
reception  on  his  arrival  on  the  evening  before  the 
date  fixed  for  the  Congress,  and  on  the  27th  of 
December,  1899,  740  delegates  assembled  in  the 
Pandal.     Thev  were  distributed  as  follows  : 


N.  W.  P.  and  Oudh 

Bengal  and  Assam 

Panjab 

Bombay  and  Sindli 

Berar,  C.  P.  and  Secunderabad 

Madras 


603 
57 
26 
36 
6 
12 

740 


292  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

The  Chairman  of  the  Eeception  Committee, 
Mr.  Bansi  Lai  Singh,  welcomed  the  delegates,  and 
then  handed  his  written  speecli  to  Pandit  Bishan 
Narayan  Dhar  to  read,  being  himself  in  feeble  health. 
After  thanking  the  Lieutenant-Grovernor  for  his 
help,  he  deprecated  the  attitude  of  the  officials  towards 
educated  Indians,  and  the  re-actionary  policy  of  the 
Government.  "  You  are  foreigners  in  the  country," 
he  said  to  the  hostile  officials.  "  You  do  not  and, 
from  your  exclusive  way,  cannot  know  the  mind  of 
the  people,  and  the  people  do  not   know  your  mind." 

But  you  have,  by  your  educational  policy,  which  lias 
immortalised  the  names  of  Bentinck  and  Macaulay,  created 
a  con.siderable  class  of  men,  filled  with  your  ideas  and 
aspirations,  conversant  with  your  manners  and  customs, 
attached  to  your  rule  by  every  tie  of  duty  and  interest, 
who  are  desirous  of  acting  as  interpreters  between  you 
and  the  people  placed  under  your  care,  and,  in  order  to 
carry  out  this  object,  adopt  those  methods  of  constitu- 
tional agitation  which    you  yourselves  have   tauglit  them. 

After  touching  on  tiie  question  of  Congress 
organisation,  the  Chairman  called  on  the  assembly 
to  elect  their  President. 

The  Hon.  Pandit  Bishambarnath  proposed,  Xawab 
Bagar  Ali  Khan  seconded,  Mr.  Wacha  and  others 
supported  the  election  of  Mr.  Komesh  Chandra  Dutt, 
CLE.,  as  President,  and  lie  took  the  Chair  amid 
great  acclamations. 

The  President  began  by  delivering  a  message  from 
^L".  A.  M.  Bose,  the  last  President,  and  reading  a 
letter  from  Mr.  W.  8.  Caine,  in  wliich  he  said  of  the 
Indian  people  :     "  My  belief  in  tlieir  future  as  a  great 


THE    FIFTEENTH    CONGRESS  293 

Self-Governing  portion  of  the  British  Empire,  and  my 
conviction  of  their  natural  capacity  for  Self-Govern- 
raent  deepens  and  strengthens  every  year."  After 
referring  to  the  passing  away  of  Dr.  Romesh  Chandra 
Mitra,  he  touched  on  "  the  creed  of  the  Congress," 
and  then  noted  that  he  was  in  London  at  the  Queen's 
Jubilee  and  saw  the  procession  of  the  representatives 
of  the  British  Empire,  including  India,  and  he  heard 
it  remai'ked  that,  while  every  Self-Governing  Colony 
was  prosperous  and  happy,  India  was  suffering  fi'om 
famine,  and  "  doubts  were  expressed  if  British  Rule 
in  India  had  been  altogether  a  blessing  for  the  poor 
cultivators  and  labourers  of  India  '".  He  then  con- 
demned the  Sedition  Law  of  1898,  and  urged  that 
there  was  no  better  way  of  creating  sedition  than  by 
suppressing  free  discussion,  newspapers  and  meetings. 
Educated  India,  while  loyal  to  the  British  rule, 
sought  "  a  large  measure  of  Self-Government  "  and  a 
"  position  among  the  modern  Xations  of  the  earth  ". 
He  grieved  over  the  withdrawal  of  Self-Government 
from  Calcutta  by  the  Municipality  Act,  passed  in  the 
first  year  of  Lord  Curzon's  administration  :  he  believed 
the  Viceroy  had  good  intentions,  but  he  did  not 
know  the  Indian  side  of  the  question.  Turning  to 
the  famine  then  prevailing,  he  urged  that  the  cause  of 
famine  was  not  increase  of  population — Germany  and 
England  increased  faster — nor  was  it  the  fault  of  the 
peasant,  the  most  frugal  and  provident  cultivator  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  ;  if  he  borrowed  at  high  interest, 
it  was  because  he  had  nothing  to  eat  ;  the  cause  of 
famine  was  the  heavy  assessment,  and  the  destruction 


294  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    fOE    FREEDOM 

of  village  industries  by  free  competition  with  English 
machinery.  One-sixth  of  the  gross  produce  of  the 
land  was  its  proper  rent,  shown  by  the  experience  of 
thousands  of  years.  Famines  would  cease  were  this 
the  assessment.  The  President  passed  rapidly  over 
other  causes  of  poverty, the  Military  and  Civil  Services, 
etc.,  the  Indians  being  virtually  foreigners  in  their 
own  country,  ^o  far  as  control  over  its  administration 
was  concerned,  and  then  he  dealt  with  administration 
problems.  The  country  which  had  organised  village 
Self-Government  and  carried  it  on  for  3,000  years 
was  now  virtually  ruled  through  the  police,  "  the 
hated  link  ^'  between  the  District  officers,  and  the 
people.  He  pointed  out  the  deficiencies  in  Munici- 
palities, District  Boards,  Provincial  Legislative  and 
Executive  Councils,  and  finally  urged  that  no  country 
could  be  well  governed  if  the  hands  of  its  people  were 
tied  up.  To  prevent  distress  and  disasters  it  was 
necessary  to  concede  Self-Government,  for  that  only 
could  consolidate  British  Rule  in  India. 

The  President  closed  his  speech  by  announcing  the 
release  of  the  Natu  brothers,  and  called  for  the 
names  of  the  members  of  the  Subjects  Committee. 
The  list  was  handed  in  and  confirmed,  and  the 
Congress  rose  for  the  day. 

The  second  day's  business  began  with  the  presenta- 
tion by  Mr.  Mudholkar  of  the  Report  of  the  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  ])revious  Congress  to  con- 
sider the  draft  constitution  and  to  submit  a  definite 
scheme.  Mr.  .Mndliolkar  said  that  the  only  new 
thing    was    the    creation   of  a  Central  Body  to  control 


THE    FIFTEENTH    CONGRESS  295 

and  cany  on  Congress  work  during  the  year.  The 
discussion  on  the  Report  was  adjourned  to  the  next 
day,  to  give  the  delegates  time  for  consideration. 

Mr.  Ambikacharan  Mozumdar  then  moved  Re- 
solution I,  the  separation  of  Executive  and  Judicial 
Functions,  a  subject  worn  threadbare,  but,  necessari- 
ly, brought  up  for  the  fifteenth  time.  Mr.  Agashe 
seconded,  Mr.  S.  Sinha,  Munshi  Nasir-ud-din  Ahmed, 
Pandit  Sham  JSTarayana,  Mr.  A.  C.  Parthasarathi 
Naidu,  and  Mr.  Abdul  Rahim  all  supported  it.  Need- 
less to  add  that  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Rai  Sahab  Lala  Murlidhar  introduced  Resolution  II, 
on  the  Panjab  Land  Alienation  Bill,  and  urged 
that  to  forbid  the  proprietor  to  sell  his  land  was  to 
worsen  his  position,  as  he  would  not  be  able  to  bor- 
row in  order  to  cultivate  it.  Lala  Kannaihia  said 
that  the  land  had  always  belonged  to  the  people  ;  the 
King  had  a  right  to  a  share  in  the  produce  but  not 
to  the  land,  and  the  revenue  was  a  tax,  not  a  rent. 
Mr.  Phansalhar  supported — the  Act  reduced  the 
value  of  land  to  its  proprietor — as  did  Nawab 
Hashmat  Husain,  and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  III,  asking  that  Britain  Avould  contri- 
bute to  the  cost  of  maintaining  the  large  British 
forces  in  India,  was  moved  by  Miss  Garland,  a. 
delegate  sent  by  the  British  Committee.  She  urged 
that  the  forces  in  India  were  unnecessarily  large,  so 
far  as  India  was  concerned,  and  that  if  so  many 
troops  were  kept  here  because  India  was  a  convenient 
military  base  for  Imperial  purposes,  then  England 
should   bear  part  of  the  cost,  and  the  money  saved  in 


296  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

India  could  be  used  for  Indian  reforms.  She  then 
spoke  on  behalf  of  the  British  Committee  on  the 
general  situation. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Baikunthanath  Sen  seconded,  point- 
ing o\it  that  as  10,000  men  had  been  removed  from 
India  for  foreign  service,  it  was  evident  that  they 
had  more  men  than  were  needed.  Messrs.  Patvardhan, 
and  Hari  Ram  Panday,  and  Pandit  Gryaneshvara 
Shastri   supported,    and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  moved  Resolution  IV,  against 
the  introduction  of  a  gold  standard  into  India.  He 
said  that  the  question  of  currency  reform  had  been 
discussed  thrice  before  in  the  Congress.  Lord 
Curzon  thought  that  gold  would  flow  into  India  from 
all  gold-producing  countries,  so  that  every  ryot  in  the 
country  would  become  prosperous,  and  the  fifty 
millions  who  go  without  one  full  meal  a  da'y  would 
be  haj)p_y.  The  root  of  India's  poverty  was  the 
yearly  drain  of  from  80  to  40  millions  which  should 
remain  and  fructify  in  the  country.  If  more  foreign 
exploiters  flowed  in,  the  profits  would  go  abroad. 
Only  indigenous  wealth  was  fruitful.  The  silver 
value  of  the  rupee  had  been  depreciated  while  its 
nominal  value  was  enhanced.  Silver  had  sold  at  a 
rupee  per  tola,  but  now  only  at  10  or  11  annas,  so 
silver  trinkets,  in  which  the  more  prosperous  stored 
their  savings,  had  diminished  in  saleable  value. 

Mr.  Ramaswami  seconded,  Mr.  Sitaram  Seth  sup- 
ported, and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  V,  on  the  separation  of  the  Military 
and    Civil    Medical    Services,   was  briefly    moved    by 


THE    FIFTEENTH    CONGRESS  297 

Dr.    Nilrataii     Sarkar,   seconded  b}'^   Dr.  T.   M.   Nair 
and  carried,  whereupon  the  Congress  adjourned. 

On  tlie  opening  of  the  third  day,  the  President 
announced  that  the  consideration  of  the  Constitution 
would  be  taken  up  on  the  morrow,  and  he  called  on 
Mr.  S.  V.  Bhate  to  move  Resolution  VI,  which 
declared  that  the  pi-inciple  embodied  in  the  Foreign 
Telegraphic  Press  Messages  Bill  was  opposed  to  the 
policy  followed  by  the  British  Government  as  to  the 
unrestricted  dissemination  of  useful  knowledge  and 
information.  Mr.  Bhate  said  that  the  measure  had 
been  proposed  ten  years  before,  but  was  pigeon-holed, 
and  its  emergence  now  Avas  due  to  the  change  in  the 
feeling  of  Government  towards  Indians.  It  was 
intended  to  prevent  news  cabled  to  this  country  being 
printed  by  the  vernacular  Press.  Haji  Riaz-ud-din 
Ahmad  said  that  the  Bill  was  brought  in  at  the 
instance  of  a  few  Anglo-Indian  newspapers,  and 
prevented  newspapers  reprinting  Reuter's  press  cables 
for  24  hours  after  their  publication  in  papers  which 
subscribed  for  them.     The  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  VII,  disapproving  the  re-actionary 
policy  of  the  Calcutta  Municipality  Act,  was  appro- 
priately proposed  by  Mr.  8urendranath  Bannerji.  He 
was  obliged  to  say  that  the  hope  of  the  previous  Con- 
gress, that  Lord  Curzon  would  reverse  "  the  policy  of 
repression  and  reaction  which  is  now  in  the  ascendant 
in  the  Councils  of  the  Empire,"  had  not  been  realised. 
The  Viceroy  had  lately  made  a  noble  speech  : 

We  cannot  bring  ourselves  to  believe  that   a  ruler  so 
sympathetic  in  his  utterances,  so  generous,  so  large-hearted 


298  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

in  his  views,  so  keenly  appreciative  of  the  situation,  will 
countenance  a  policy  opposed  to  the  best  traditions  of 
British  rule,    repugnant  to  all  that  is  highest,  noblest  and 

truest   in  British    statesmanship Read  that  speech, 

contrast  that  speech  with  the  policy.  The  speech,  how 
noble,  how  generous,  how  sympathetic  ;  the  policy,  how 
narrow,  how  illiberal,  how  un-P]nglish. 

Mr,  Bannerji  then  went  on  to  speak  words  as  true 
to-day  as  they  were  time  then,  words  of  wise  warning: 

Sir,  who  are  the  men  who  are  bitterly  disloyal — the 
men  who  say  ditto  to  every  measure  of  Government,  who 
in  season  and  out  of  season  sing  the  praise  of  Govern- 
ment, who  suffer  and  suffer  in  the  silence  of  bitterness  of 
unknown  and  unknowable  sorrow,  or  those  who,  like 
myself,  give  expression,  frank  expression,  to  our  grievan- 
ces, raise  the  danger  signal,  and  call  the  attention  of 
Government  and  press  for  remedy  ?  Sir,  in  these  days 
I  am  perfectly  sure  the  greatest  bulwark  of  all  the 
Governments,  be  they  indigenous  or  be  they  foreign, 
is  the  contentment,  the  gratitude  and  the  affection  of 
the  people.  How  is  the  affection  of  the  people  to  be  won 
except  by  the  removal  of  grievances,  and  how  are  the 
people  to  remove  their  grievances  except  by  the  adoption 
of  constitutional  means  or  the  adoption  of  revolutionary 
measures  ?  We  are  the  friends  of  Reform  because  we  are 
the  enemies  of  Revolution.  We  have  made  our  choice  ; 
let  our  enemies  make  theirs.  Do  they  wish  to  belong  to 
our  camp,  or  do  they  wish  to  belong  to  the  camp  of 
revolutionists  P  There  is  no  intermediary  step  between 
Reform  and  Revolution.  For  you  must  enlist  yourselves 
under  the  banner  of  Reform,  or  you  must  take  your  place 
behind  tlie  standard  of  Revolt  and  Revolution. 

True  loyalty  to  the  P]mpire  now,  as  then,  consists 
in  open  speech  on  dangerous  grievances,  for  Govern- 
ments, flattered  into  error  by  sycophants — who 
secretly  hate  them  the  more  bitterly  for  their 
own     degradaticm     in     the    flattery — sleep    until   the 


THE    FIFTEENTH    CONGRESS  299 

accumulation  of  hatred  rises  in  furious  anger  and 
awakes  them,  too  late.  In  frank  and  open  speech  no 
danger  lurks.  Surendranath  Babn  analysed  the  Act, 
and  showed  Iioav  the  civic  rights  of  Calcutta  had  been 
destroyed.  The  gulf  between  rulers  and  ruled  was 
widening. 

There  is  reaction  iu    their  policy,  reaction  in  opinion, 
reaction  along  the  entii'e   line,  reaction  is  the  order  of  the 

day They   would  fain   undo  the  past.     They   would 

fain  roll  Imck  the  tide  of  prog-ress  which  has  set  in  with 
such  irresistible  force.  Shall  we  let  them,  shall  we  per- 
mit them,  to  prove  false  to  the  noblest  traditions  of  their 
own  race  "r* 

Mr.  Nazir-ud-din  Kamur-ud-din  seconded  the  Re- 
solution, audit  was  carried. 

Resolution  VIII  protested  against  the  prohibition 
imposed  on  managers  and  teachers  in  aided  Institu- 
tions, forbidding  them  from  taking  part  in  political 
movements  or  attending  political  meetings  without  the 
consent  of  the  Director  of  Public  Instruction.  It  was 
moved  by  Mr.  Kalicharan  Bannerji,  seconded  by 
Dr.  T.  M.  Nair,  supported  by  three  other  speakers, 
and  carried. 

Mr.  G.  C.  Mitra  moved  Resolution  IX,  on  the  well- 
worn  subject  of  Local  Option.  Mr.  A.  C.  Partha- 
sarathi  Naidu  seconded,  and  it  was  supported  by  Miss 
Garland,  Pandit  Ratannath,  and  Mr.  Ram  Prasad,  and 
carried,  closing  the  work  of  the  third  day. 

On  the  fourth  day,  the  President  put  from  the 
Chair  the  Rules  of  the  Congress  Constitution,  as 
follows,  forming  Resolution  X  : 


300  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

( 1 )  The  object  of  the  Indian  National  Congress  shall  be  to 
promote  by  constitutional  means  the  interests  and  the  well-being 
of  the  people  of  the  Indian  Empire. 

(2)  It  shall  ordinarily  meet  once  a  year  at  such  time  and  in 
such  place  as  shall  have  been  resolved  on  by  the  last  preceding 
Congress.  Pi-ovided  that  the  Indian  Congress  Committee,  as  here- 
inafter provided  for,  may,  in  case  of  necessity,  change  the  place  or 
time  of  the  Congress,  provided  also  that  in  case  of  emergency  the 
Indian  Congress  Committee  unaj^  convene  an  extraordinary  session 
of  the  Congress  at  such  time  and  place  as  may  be  determined 
by  them. 

(3)  It  shall  consist  of  delegates  elected  b}'  political  associa- 
tions or  other  bodies,  and  by  public  meetings. 

(4)  Its  affairs  shall  be  managed  by  a  Committee,  styled  the 
Indian  Congress  Committee,  consisting  of  45  members  elected  by 
the  Congress,  40  of  whom  shall  be  elected  upon  the  recommenda- 
tions of  the  different  Provincial  Congress  Committees,  and,  in  the 
absence  of  such  Committees,  by  the  delegates  of  the  respective 
Provinces  in  Congress  assembled,  in  the  manner  hei-einbelow  laid 
down,  that  is  to  say  : 

For  Bengal  including  Assam           ...          ...  ...  8 

For  Bombay  including  Sind             ...          ...  ...  8 

For  Madras  including  Secundei-abad        ...  ...  8 

For  N.  AVestern  Provinces  including  Oudh  ...  6 

For  Panjab    ...          ...          ...           ...          ...  ...  4 

For  Berar       ...  3 

For  Central  Provinces          ...          ...          ...  ...  3 

The  term  of  office  of  the  members  of  the  Committee  shall  be 
the  period  intervening  between  two  ordinary  meetings  of  the 
Congress. 

(5)  'J'hc  Iiiilian  Coiigx'ess  Committee  shall  meet  at  least 
three  times  a  year,  once  immediately  after  the  Congress,  once 
during  tlie  year  between  the  months  of  June  and  October,  as  may  be 
detijrmined  upon  by  the  Committee,  and  once  immediately  before 
the  Congress,  at  such  place  as  the  Committee  may  find  convenient. 

(6)  The  Indian  Congress  Committee  shall  have  an  Honorary 
S(?cretary  and  a  paid  Assistant  Secretary,  with  suitable  office  stafS, 
for  which  a  sum  of  Rs.  5,000  shall  be  granted  annually,  one  half  of 
which  shall  l)e  provided  by  the  Reception  Committee  of  the  place 
where  the  last  Congress  is  held,  and  the  other  half  by  the  Reception 
Committee  of  I  he  place  where  the  next  succeeding  Congress  is  to 
be  held. 

The  Secretary  to  the  Indian  National  Congress  shall  be  the 
Honorary  Secretary  of  the  Committee. 


THE    FIFTEENTH    CONGRESS  301 

(7)  Provincial  Congress  Committees  shall  be  organised  at 
the  capitals  of  the  different  Presidencies  and  Provinces  of  India  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  work  of  political  education,  on  lines 
of  general  appreciation  of  British  rule  and  of  constitutional 
action  for  the  removal  of  its  defects,  throughout  the  year  by 
organising  Standing  Congress  Committees,  holding  Provincial 
Conferences,  and  by  such  other  means  as  they  may  deem  proper, 
in  consultation  with  the  Indian  Congress  Committee,  for 
furthering  the  objects  of  the  Congress.  They  shall  be  respon- 
sible agents  of  the  Indian  Congress  Committee  for  their  respective 
Provinces,  and  shall  submit  annual  reports  of  their  work  to 
that  Committee. 

(8)  The  nomination  of  the  President,  the  drafting  of 
Resolutions  and  all  other  business  in  connection  with  the  Congress, 
shall  be  done  by  the  Indian  Congress  Committee.  It  shall  also, 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Congress,  frame  rules  for  the 
election  of  delegates,  the  election  of  speakers,  and  the  conduct  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  Congress. 

(9)  Rules  and  Bye-laws  shall  be  framed  by  the  Provincial 
Congress  Committees  for  the  election  of  members,  the  conduct  of 
their  own  proceedings,  and  other  matters  appertaining  to  their 
business.  All  such  rules  and  bye-laws  shall  be  subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  Indian  Congress  Committee. 

(10)  A  Committee,  styled  the  British  Congi-ess  Committee, 
shall  be  maintained  in  England,  which  shall  represent  there  the 
interests  of  the  Indian  National  Congress.  The  amount  requisite 
for  the  expenses  of  the  said  Committee  shall  be  determined  and 
voted  by  the  Congress,  and  the  amount  so  voted  shall  be  raised  by 
the  Indian  Congress  Committee  in  sucih  manner  as  niay  be 
determined  tipon  by  that  body  from  time  to  time, 

(11)  The  Indian  Congress  Committee  shall  take  such  steps 
as  they  may  deem  tit  to  raise  a  permanent  fund  for  carrying  on  the 
work  of  the  Indian  National  Congress ;  and  such  fund  shall  be 
invested  in  the  name  of  7  trustees,  one  from  each  Province  in 
India,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Congress. 

The  45  members  of  the  Committee  were  then  chosen. 

Resolution  XI,  thanking  Sir  William  Wedderburn 
and  the  British  Committee,  and  Resolution  XII, 
asking,  as  often  before,  that  the  Executive  Councils 
of  Madras  and  Bombay  should  consist  of  three 
members  instead  of  two,  one  of  the  three  to  be  an 
Indian,  were  also  put  from  the  Chair  and  carried. 


802  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOE    TREEDOM 

Resolution  XIII,  moved  by  Mr.  Mudholkar,  urged, 
as  remedies  for  famine,  curtailment  of  expenditure, 
development  of  industries,  and  the  lessening  of  land 
assessment.  He  gave  the  figures  of  Mr.  Dadabhai 
Naoroji,  and  Sir  W.  Hunter  on  poverty ;  he  showed 
that  the  public  debt  had  increased  in  60  years  from 
26  to  nearly  270  crores  of  rupees.  Pandit  Madan 
Mohan  Malaviya  followed,  pleading  the  cause  of 
the  peasant,  and  urging  that  "  Government  ought  to 
foster  native  industries  and  native  arts  ".  After  Haji 
Shaik  Hussain  had  spoken  in  Urdu,  Mr.  Chintamani 
said  that  that  they  were  firmly  convinced  that 
the  costly,  extravagant  and  unnatural  system  of 
administration  was  the  root  cause  of  the  recur- 
ring famines.  The  poverty  of  the  people  was 
beyond  challenge;  less  than  half  a  million  per- 
sons were  assessed  to  income-tax  in  1897,  although 
every  one  was  assessed  who  had  an  annual  income  of 
Rs.  500  (£33.  6s).  Mr.  S.  S.  Dev  supported,  and  the 
Resolution  was  carried. 

Munshi  Muhammad  Sujjad  Hussain  drove  the 
Omnibus  this  year,  and  before  it  was  seconded  by 
Mr.  Yatindranath  Choudhuri,  the  President  read  a 
telegram  of  thanks  to  the  Congress  from  the  Natu 
brothers  for  the  sympathy  shown  to  them.  Mr.  S.  K. 
Nair,  Syed  Ali  Usat,  and  Mr.  Krishna  Badev  Varma 
supported,  and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

.Ml',  b'aniacliaiidra  Pillai  moved,  and  Mr.  Mahesh- 
vara  Pi'asad  seconded  our  familiar  friend  of  gagging 
the  Press  in  Indian  States  as  Resolution  XV,  and 
Resolution   XVI    pressed   the   necessity  for  Technical 


THE    riFTEENTH    CONGRESS  303 

Education    and    thanked    Mr.    Tata   for  his   splendid 

gift- 

Resolutions  XVII,  Panjab  Legislative  Council 
restrictions ;  XVIII,  Berar  Administration ;  XIX, 
plague  expenditure  ;  XX,  confidence  in  Mr.  Dadabhai 
Naoroji ;  XXI,  re-election  of  Mr.  A.  0.  Hume  and 
Mr,  D.  E.  Wacha  as  General  and  Joint  General 
Secretaries,  were  all  put  from  the  Chair. 

Resolution  XXII  appointed  an  Agency  in  England 
to  co-operate  with  the  British  Committee  to  dis- 
seminate information  on  Indian  subjects,  a  work  that 
has  not  yet  been  done  effectively.  It  was  carried, 
and  Rs.  3,000  subscribed. 

Rai  Sahab  Lala  Murlidhar  then  invited  the  Con- 
gress to  meet  in  Lahore  the  following  year.  Pandit 
Bishan  Narayana  Dhar  moved  the  vote  of  thanks  to 
the  President,  who  responded  in  a  few  graceful 
words. 

With  these,  the  Fifteenth  National  Congress  dis- 
solved. 

RESOLUTIONS 

Legal 

I.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  notices  with  satisfaction  the 
sui)])ort  of  public  opinion,  both  in  England  and  in  India,  which  the 
question  of  the  separation  of  the  Judicial  from  the  Executive 
functions  in  the  administration  of  justice  has  received  ;  and  this 
Congress,  while  thanking  Lord  Hobhouse,  Sir  Richard  Garth,  Sir 
Richard  Couch,  Sir  Charles  Sergeant,  Sir  William  Markby,  Sir 
John  Budd  Phear,  Sir  John  Scott,  Sir  Roland  K.  Wilson, 
Mr.  Herbert  J.  Reynolds,  and  Sir  William  Wedderburn  for  presenting 
a  petition  to  the  Secretary  of  State  in  Council  to  effect  the  much- 
needed  separation,  earnestly  hopes  that  the  Government  of  India 
will  give  their  earliest  attention  to  the  jietition  which  has  been 
forwarded  to  them,  and  will  take  practical  steps  for  carrying  out 
this  much-needed  reform. 


304  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Land  Tenure 

II.  Resolved — («)  That  this  Congress  regrets  the  introduc- 
tion into  the  Supreme  Legislative  Council  of  a  Bill  to  amend  the 
Law  relating  to  agricultural  land  in  the  Paujab,  with  a  view  to 
restrict  alienation  of  land  as  proposed  in  the  Bill  by  sale  or 
mortgage,  which  is  calculated  (1  to  decrease  the  credit  of  the 
agriculturists  and  landholders  ;  (2)  to  make  them  more  resourceless 
on  account  of  their  inability  to  meet  the  ever  increasing  State 
demands  upon  their  land  ;  and  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
provision  to  give  retrospective  effect  to  the  Bill  is  inequitable  and 
unfair. 

(b)  That  this  Congress  recommends  that  real  relief  be  afford- 
ed to  the  cultivating  classes  in  the  following  way  :  that  whei-e  the 
Government  is  the  rent-receiver,  the  rule  proposed  in  1882, 
jDrohibiting  any  advancement  except  on  the  ground  of  rise  in 
prices,  be  enforced,  and  that  where  private  landlords  are  the  rent- 
receivers,  some  provision  to  jjrohibit  undue  enhancement  of  rent  be 
made. 

(c)  This  Congress  further  resolves  tliat  a  Committee  con- 
sisting of  the  President,  Mr.  Jaishi  Ram,  Mr.  N.  Gupta,  Mr.  Wacha, 
Muushi  Madho  Lai,  Mr,  Mudholkar  and  Mr.  Ikbal  Shankar  be 
appointed  and  empowered  to  submit  a  representation  to  the 
Government,  pointing  out  the  unsuitable  nature  of  many  of  the 
j)rovisions  of  the  Bill. 

Military 

111.  Uesolved — That  whereas  it  is  considered  safe  and  pru- 
dent to  withdraw  large  bodies  of  British  troops  for  service  outside  the 
statutory  limits  of  India,  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  time 
has  come  when  the  Indian  tax-payer  should  be  granted  some  relief 
out  of  the  British  E.xchequer  towards  the  cost  of  maintaining  in 
India  so  large  a  force  of  European  soldiers.  This  Congress  sees  no 
objection  to  the  location  of  British  troops  in  India  as  a  reserve  force 
for  the  whole  of  the  British  Empire,  but  is  of  oj)inion  that  the  time 
has  come  for  the  transfer  of  the  cost  of  20,000  British  troops  from 
the  Indian  to  the  British  E.xchequer. 

Monetary 

I  \'.  llesolved — (a)  That  having  regard  to  the  fact  that  the 
))rinci))al  cause  of  loss  by  Exchange  is  the  steady  growth  of  the 
demand  cm  tlie  Indian  Exchequer  for  expenditure  in  England,  this 
Congress  regrets  tlie  introduction  of  a  gold  standard  in  India  on 
the  recommendation  of  the  Currency  Committee  for  the  purpose  of 
preventing  the  loss  by  exchange,  and  is  of  opinion  that  the  new 
measure  is  calculated  to  increase  the  en\d  obligations  of  India. 


THE    FIFTEENTH    CONGRESS  305 

(h)  That  this  Congress  is  further  of  opinion  that  the 
decision  accepted  by  the  Government  will  in  effect  add  to  the 
indebtedness  of  the  poorer  classes  in  India,  depreciate  the  value  of 
their  savings  in  the  shape  of  silver  ornaments,  and  virtually  add  to 
their  i-ent  and  taxes. 

(c)  That  this  Congress  is  further  of  opinion  that  the 
decision  accepted  by  the  Government  is  likely  to  be  prejudicial  to 
the  indigenous  manufactures  of  the  country. 

Public    Services 

V.  Resolved— That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
union  of  the  Military  Tind  Civil  Medical  Services  is  extravagant, 
inconvenient,  and  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  Government  as 
well  as  of  the  people,  and  strongly  urges  the  necessity  of  the 
•separation  of  the  two  Services,  by  the  creation  of  a  distinct  Civil 
Medical  Department,  recruited  by  open,  simultaneous  competition 
in  England  and  India. 

XII.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  policy  of  appointing 
to  the  Governorships  of  Madi-as  and  Bombay  statesmen  from 
England  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Services  in  India,  this  Congress  is 
of  opinion  that  it  is  desirable  that  those  Provinces  should  be 
administered  with  the  help  of  Councils  of  three  and  not  two 
members  as  at  present,  and  that  one  of  the  three  councillors  should 
be  a  Native  of  India.  m, 

Fe-action 

VT.  Resolved — That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  that  the 
principle  embodied  in  the  Foreign  Telegraphic  Press  Messages  Bill, 
now  pending  before  the  Supreme  Legislative  Council,  is  op2Dosed 
to  the  policy  followed  by  the  British  Government  in  India  as  to  the 
unrestricted  dissemination  of  useful  knowledge  and  information, 
and  that  no  adequate  necessity  is  shown  to  exist  for  the  passing  of 
the  proposed  measvire  in  India. 

VII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  expresses  its  disapproval 
of  the  re-actionary  policy,  subversive  of  local  Self-Government, 
evidenced  by  the  passing  of  the  Calcutta  Municipal  Act,  and  bj-  the 
introduction  into  the  Legislative  Council  of  Bombay  of  a  similar 
measure,  which  will  have  the  effect  of  seriously  jeopardising  the 
principles  of  Local  Self-Government. 

VIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
rules  prohibiting  managers  and  teachers  of  aided  institutions  froni 
taking  part  in  political  movements  or  attending  political  meetings 
without  the  consent  of  the  Director  of  Public  Instruction,  or  other 
authorities,  are  likely  to  interfere  with  the  j^ractical  and  effectual 
exei'cise  of  the  rights  of  British  subjects,  to  withdraw  able  and 
influential    men  fi-om  the  cause  of  education,  and  to  restrict  private 

24 


306  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

enterprise  and  orc^anisation  for  the  spread  of  education  in  this 
country.  And  this  Congress  hopes  that  the  Madras  and  Bombay 
(rovernments  will  take  steps  to  remove  from  the  educational  rules 
and  the  grant-in-aid  code  the  i)rovisions  to  the  effect  described 
above!. 

liocal  Option 

IX.  Resnhed  — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  stringent 
measures  should  1  e  taken  by  the  Government  in  granting  licences 
to  retail  liquor  shops,  and  that  no  such  shops  should  l)e  established 
anywhere   in    India    witliout    taking  the  sense  of  the  inhabitants  of 

tlic  place. 

Congress  Constitution 

X.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  adopts  the  following  rules 
regarding  the  Constitution  of  the  Congress: — (See  pp.  300,  301.) 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  INDIAN  CONGRESS  COMMITTEE 

A])iJointed  by  tlie  Congress  under  the  above  Resolution. 

G  E  N  K  R A  L    M  E  M  B  E  RS  : 

Mr.  W.  C.  Bannerji. 
The  Hon.  Surendranath  Hanneiji. 
Tlie  Hon.  P.  Ananda  Charlu. 
The  Hon.  P.  M.  Mehta. 


Beng.\l 


Mr.  Mudholkar. 


Mr.  A.  M.  Bose. 

Mr.  Kalicharan  Rannei-ji. 

Mr.  Bhupendra  Nath  Bo.«e. 

The  Hon.  Baikunthanath  Sen. 

Mr.  Ambikacharan  Moziiiii(hif. 

Mr.  J.  Ghosal. 

Mr.  Aswini  Kumar  Dutt. 

Mr.  Dipnarain   Sinha. 


N.  \V.  P.  iV  Or  nil 


The  Hon.  Pandit  Bishanibharnal  li. 

Biibii  Ganga  Prasafl  Varuia. 

Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya. 

Mr.  A.  Nundy. 

Mr.  Bishan  Naravan  Dhar. 

.Mr.    llaliz  Alxbii'Haliim. 


Bombay 


Pan JAB 


THE    FIFTEENTH    CONGRESS  307 


Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha. 

The  Hon.  G.  Chandravarkar. 

Mr.  W.  A.  Chambers. 

Mr.  R.  M.  Sayani. 

Mr.  Daji  Abaji  Khare. 

Mr.  Chinian  H.  Setahvad. 

Mr.  R.  P.  Karandikar. 

i\lr.  Tahilram  Khein  Chaiul. 


Lala  Kaniha  Lai. 
Sirdar  Jhenda  Singli 
Lala  Harkisliaii  Lai. 
Mr.  Jaishi  Ram. 


Central  Provinces: 


Mr.  Bapiirao  Dada. 
Mr.   Bhagirath  Prast; 
Mr.  H.  V.  Kelkar. 


BeKAR : 


Mr.  Deorao  Vinayak. 
Mr.   M.V.  Joshi. 
Mr.  G.  S.  Khaparde. 


Madras 


The  Hon.  C.  Vijiaragliavaehari. 
The  Hon.  C.  Jambulingam  Mudaliar. 
The  Hon.  G.  Venkataratnani. 
Mr.   C.  Sankaran  Nair. 
Mr.  P.  Rangia  Naidu. 
Mr.  P.  Ramchandra  Pillai. 
Mr.  G.  Subramania  Iyer. 
Mr.  V.  Ryru  Nambier. 

Congx'ess  Work 

XT.  Resolved — That  tliis  Congress  recognises  the  valuable 
services  of  the  British  Committee  in  the  cause  of  the  people  of 
India,  and  expresses  its  unabated  confidence  in  Sir  William 
Wedderburn  and  the  other  members  of  the  Committee. 

And  the  sum  of  Rs.  54,000  be  assigned  for  the  expenses  of 
the  British  Committee  and  the  cost  of  the  Congress  publication 
India, 


308  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

XXII.  Resolved — That  an  agency  be  appointed  in  England,  for 
the  purpose  of  organising  in  concert  with  the  British  Congress 
Committee,  public  meetings  for  the  dissemination  of  information 
on  Indian  matters,  and  that  funds  be  raised  for  the  purpose. 

Famine 

XIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  while  gratefully  recog- 
nising the  endeavours  made  by  the  Indian  and  Provincial  Govern- 
ments to  save  human  life  and  relieve  distress  at  the  present  famine, 
ui'ges  the  adoption  of  the  true  i-emedy  :  to  improve  the  condition  of 
the  cultivating  classes  and  prevent  the  occurrence  of  famine,  this 
Congress  recommends  the  curtailment  of  public  expenditure,  the 
development  of  local  and  indigenous  industries  and  the  moderating 
of  laud  assessment. 

Confirmation  of  Previous    Resolutions 

XIV.  Resolved — (I)  That  this  Congress  concurs  with  ]jre\aons 
Congresses  in  strongly  advocating— [(1897  (b) — (e)  and  (,g)]. 

(II)  That  this  Congress  concurring  with  i)revious  Congresses 
records  its  protest — [(1897  (o)  and  (b)]. 

(f)  Against  the  retrograde  policy  of  the  Government  of 
India  in  nominating  a  gentleman  for  the  Central  Provinces  to 
the  Supreme  Council  without  asking  local  bodies  to  make 
recommendations  for  such  nomination,  entertaining  the  eai-nest 
hope  that  the  Government  will  be  pleased  to  take  early  stejjs  to 
give  to  the  Central  Provinces  the  same  kind  of  representation  that 
it  has  already  granted  to  Bengal,  Madras,  Bombay  and  tlic  North 
Western  Provinces. 

(d)  Against  the  labour  laws  of  Assam,  viz.,  the  Inland 
Emigration  Act  I  of  1882,  as  amended  by  Act  VII  of  1893. 

(III)  This  Congress  concurring  with  previous  Congresses,  ex- 
presses its  conviction — 

(a)  That  having  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  Jury  Com- 
mission as  to  the  success  of  the  system  of  trial  by  jury,  and  also  the 
fact  that  with  the  progress  of  education  a  sufficient  number  of 
educated  persons  is  available  in  all  ]y,\rts  of  the  country,  the  system 
of  trial  by  jury  should  be  extended  fo  tlie  districts  and  offences,  to 
which  at  present  it  does  not  apj)ly. 

(h)  That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  tliat  it  is  desirable  in 
the  interests  of  tlie  people  of  this  country  that  the  Criminal 
Procedure  Code  should  be  so  amended  as  to  confer  upon  accused 
persons,  who  are  Natives  of  India,  the  right  of  claiming^  in  ti-ials  by 
jury  l>efor(!  the  High  Court,  and  in  trials  with  the  aid  of  assessors, 
tliat  not  less  than  half  the  number  of  the  jurors  or  of  the  assessors 
shall  be  Natives  of  India. 


THE    FIFTEENTH    CONGRESS  309 

(c)  That  the  actiou  of  the  Forest  Department  under  the  rules 
framed  by  the  different  Provincial  Governments,  prejudicially 
affects  the  inhabitants  of  the  rural  part  of  the  country  by  subjecting 
them  to  the  annoyance  and  oppression  of  Forest  subordinates  in 
various  ways ;  and  these  rules  should  be  amended  in  the  interests 
of  the  peoule, 

((?)  That  the  minimum  income  assessable  under  the  Income- 
Tax  Act,  be  raised  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  rupees. 

(e)  That  no  satisfactory  solution  of  the  question  of  the 
emploj'ment  of  Natives  of  India  in  the  Indian  Civil  Service  is 
possible,  unless  effect  is  given  to  the  resohition  of  the  House  of 
(Joinmons  of  June,  1893,  in  favour  of  holding  the  competitive 
Examinations  for  the  Indian  Civil  Service  simultaneously  in  India 
and  England. 

Coercion 

XV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
Government  of  India  Notification  of  25th  June,  1891,  in  the  Foreign 
Department,  gagging  the  Press  in  Territories  under  British  adminis- 
tration in  Native  States  is  retrograde,  arbitrary  and  mischievous  in 
its  nature,  and  opposed  to  sound  statesmanship  and  to  the  liberty  of 
the  people  and  ought  to  be  cancelled. 

Education 

XVI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  places  on  record  its 
conviction  that  the  system  of  Technical  Education  now  in  vogiie  is 
inadequate  and  unsatisfactory,  and  prays  that,  having  regard  to  the 
poverty  of  the  people  and  the  decline  of  indigenous  industries,  the 
Government  will  introduce  a  more  elaborate  and  ethcient  scheme 
of  technical  instruction,  and  set  apart  more  funds  for  the  successful 
working  of  the  same.  And  this  Congress  desires  to  express  its 
grateful  appreciation  of  the  patriotic  and  munificent  gift  of 
Mr.  Tata  for  the  promotion  of  the  higher  scientific  education  and 
research. 

Legislative  Council  (Panjab) 

XVII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  while  thanking  the 
Government  for  granting  the  boon  of  a  Legislative  Council  to  the 
Panjab,  places  on  record  its  regret  that  they  have  not  extended  to 
the  Councillors  the  right  of  interpellation,  and  to  the  people  the 
right  of  recommending  Councillors  for  nomination,  such  as  are 
enjoyed  by  the  Councillors  and  the  people  in  the  other  Provinces. 

Berar  Legislation 

XVIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  so 
long  as  Berar  is  administered  by    the  Governor-General-in-Council, 


310  now    INDIA   WROUGHT    I?OR    FREEDOM 

all  laws  and  orders  having  the  force  of  laws  intended  for  Berar 
should  be  enacted  by  the  Supi'erae  Legislative  Council,  in  the  same 
way  as  those  for  British  India  proper. 

Plague  Expenditure 

XTX.  Resolved— That  the  adoption  of  measures  against  the 
plague  being  an  Imperial  concern  and  recognised  as  such,  this 
Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  expenditure  incurred  in  connection 
therewith  should  be  borne  by  the  Government  and  not  charged  to 
the  fimds  of  tiie  local  bodies. 

Parliamentary  Representation 

XX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  expresses  its  miabated 
confidence  in  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji  as  the  representative  of  the 
jieople  of  India,  and  hopes  that  he  will  l)e  re-elected  by  his 
old  constituency  of  Central  Finsbury  or  any  other  Liberal 
Constituency. 

Formal 

XXI.  Resolvefl— That  this  Congress  re-apjjoints  Mr.  A.  O. 
Hunu',  C.B.,  to  be  General  Secretarj',  and  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  to  lie 
•loint  G(!neral  Secretary  for  the  ensuing  year. 

The  Congi-ess  accejited  th(^  in\itation  to  Lahore  for  its 
16th  Session. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


To  the  far  north  had  the  Congress  travelled  for  its 
Sixteenth  Session,  and  it  met  at  Lahore  on  December 
27th,  28th  and  29th,  1900,  in  the  first  year  of  the 
twentieth  century.  It  met  in  the  Bradlaugh  Hall, 
the  Hall  built  in  loving  memory  of  a  great  English- 
man and  a  great  servant  of  India.  567  delegates 
had  answered  to  the  call,  a  goodly  number  for  the 
long  journey  into  the  chill  of  the  Panjab  in  midwinter. 
But  if  Panjab  winters  are  cold,  Panjab  hearts  are 
warm.     The  delegates  were  grouped  as  follows  : 


Bengal  and  Assam 

..     38 

N.  W.  P.  and  Oudh 

..     39 

Panjab... 

..  421 

Bombay  (28)  and  Siudh  (29) 

..     57 

C.   P.  and  Secunderabad 

..       3 

Madras... 

9 

567 

Rai  Bahadur  Kali  Prasanna  Roy  was  the  Chairman 
of  the  Reception  Committee,  and  welcomed  the 
delegates  warmly,  but  alluded  with  grief  to  the 
passing  away  of  Sai-dar  Dayal  Singh  the  year  before, 
and    of   Mr.  Jaishi    Ram,  "  the   light   and  life   of  the 


312  HOW   INDIA   WROUGHT    FOE    FREEDOM 

Congress  cause  in  tliis  Province  ".  He  rightly  claimed 
the  Congress  as  "  the  only  true  interpreter  between  the 
rulers  and  the  ruled,"  and  it  was  necessary  that  it 
should  reach  England,  and  teach  the  British  people 
the  greatness  of  their  responsibility  in  taking  the 
Government  of  300  millions  of  people.  Hindus  had 
no  need  to  agitate  under  their  own  rulers,  nor  under 
the  Muhammadans,  who  selected  their  most  trusted 
counsellors  from  among  Hindus;  "  But  the  times  have 
ciianged,  and  the  alien  Government  now  ruling  over 
us  has  entirely  different  ideas  and  constitutions.  The 
English  Government,  though  democratic  at  home,  is 
imperialistic  and  bureaucratic  here.  So  agitation  is 
tlie  rule.  H  we  wish  to  live  upon  two  meals  a  day 
we  must  conform  our  ways  to  theirs,  and  carry  on  an 
agitation  with  untiring  and  persistent  zeal." 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Surendranath  Banner ji  proposed  as 
President  the  Hon.  Mr.  N.  G.  Chandravarkar,  "one 
of  the  Judges  of  Her  Majesty's  High  Court  of 
Bombay  ".  The  proposal  was  seconded  by  Lala  Hans 
Raj,  supported  l)y  Moulvi  Muhurram  Ali  Chisti, 
the  Hon.  Mr.  C.  Yijiaraghavachariar,  and  Mr.  Bansi 
Lai,  and  carried  unanimously. 

The  President,  after  a  few  words  of  thanks,  turned 
to  tlie  consideriition  of  tlie  condition  of  the  country. 
During  the  ye.ir  the  country  had  been  suffering  a 
teri'ibk^  famine,  justifying  the  repeated  warnings  of 
the  Congress  of  tlie  increasing  poverty  of  the  masses; 
the  Viceroy  had  said  that  "  the  weakness  and 
incapacity  for  resistance  of  the  people  took  the  Local 
Government   by  surprise,"   but  it  was  the  outcome  of 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CONGEESS  313 

the  long  poverty.  The  necessary  changes  were  not 
made,  the  revenue  collections  remained  rigid,  the 
agrarian  problem  was  not  faced.  The  Panjab  Land 
Alienation  Act,  just  passed,  tied  the  ryot  to  the  soil, 
but  did  not  enable  him  to  live  and  flourish  on  it. 
Both  agriculture  and  industry  needed  to  be  helped 
to  improve,  and  to  this  should  be  added  economy  in 
administi-arion.  The  Congress  should  help  the 
Clovernnient  with  facts,  information  and  practical 
suggestions,  so  as  to  enable  it  to  pursue  a  large  and 
liberal  policy. 

The  Subjects  Committee  was  then  approved,  and 
the  Congress  adjourned. 

On  the  28th  December,  Mr.  E.  N.  Mudholkar 
moved  liesolution  I  on  the  Congress  Constitution, 
making  slight  changes  in  the  number  of  members  in 
the  Indian  Congress  Committee  assigned  to  each 
Province ;  the  Resolution  was  seconded  by  Mr.  V.  R. 
Nambier  and  carried. 

Mr.  (t.  Subramania  Iyer  moved  Resolution  II, 
asking  for  an  enquiry  into  the  economic  condition  of 
India,  with  a  view  to  discover  and  adopt  remedies  for 
the  oft-recurring  famines.  Labourers  left  1  ndia  for  other 
countries,  and  developed  the  prosperity  of  other  lands 
by  their  industry,  but  they  were  cruelly  ill-used  there. 
Millions  of  people  had  died  of  famine,  and  millions 
more  were  left  permanently  deteriorated.  The  causes 
of  such  famines  should  be  examined,  and  remedies 
adopted. 

Mr.  R.  N.  Mudholkar  seconded,  and  gave  statistics 
on  the  poverty   of  the   people,  and    showed  how  the 


314  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

enliancement  ot*  the  land  revenue  pressed  on  the 
peasantry,  yet  nothing-  was  done.  At  least  some  eifort 
sliould  be  made  to  grapple  with  the  question,  after 
obtaining  information.  Mr.  B.  G.  Tilak  said  that 
some  blamed  the  ryot  for  his  poverty,  but  the  ryot 
was  much  the  same  as  he  had  long  been.  But  if  you 
took  away  the  produce  of  the  land  and  did  not  give 
it  back  to  the  land  in  some  form  more  material  than 
})restige  and  advice,  the  country  must  grow  poorer 
and  poorer.  That  was  the  Congress  view.  Moulvi 
Muliurram  Ali  Chisti  supported  in  a  vigorous  speech, 
and  Mr.  Joseph  Benjamin  followed,  reporting  what  he 
knew  of  the  famine-stricken  districts  in  Gujerat,  and 
of  tlie  efforts  to  collect  the  revenue  against  the  advice 
of  the  Commissioner  and  the  Collector,  who  had  stated 
that  the  people  could  not  pay.  Mr.  Chura  Mani,  from 
Hissar,  a  famine-stricken  district  in  the  Panjab, 
gave  testimony  that  tlie  people  borrowed  from  the 
money-lenders  to  pay  the  (xovernment  tax.  The 
Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  J 11,  on  throwing  oj)en  the  higher  grades 
of  the  Army  to  Indians,  and  asking  for  Military 
Colleges,  was  moved  by  Sardar  Man  Singh,  who 
pointed  to  the  loyalty,  the  bravery,  the  devotion 
shown  by  Indian  soldiers,  fighting  her  Majesty's 
battles  in  'I'irali,  in  Burma,  "at  present  they  are 
shed(b'ng  their  Ijlood  in  China,  for  the  service  of  the 
I'iiiipire".  Lord  Roberts  had  said  that  the  Panjabi 
soldiers  were  as  good  as  the  British. 

These  words  w^ere  spoken  in  lOUU.  We  are  re- 
peating   them    in    1915.     In   other  wars    since    1900 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CONGRESS  315 

Indians  have  shed  their  blood.  They  have  never 
failed  England  in  her  need.  And  still  they  are  kept 
out  of  the  commissioned  ranks,  and  still  we  are  told  : 
"  Trust  in  the  gratitude  of  England." 

Sardar  Grurcharan  Singh  followed,  on  the  same  old 
lines — young  men  of  martial  races,  offered  the  rank 
of  a  Jamadar.  He  recalled  the  march  of  the  Sikhs,  who 
marched  580  miles  in  22  days  under  the  burning  sun 
of  June  to  the  rescue  of  the  hard  pressed  British  at 
Delhi  and  arrived,  Sir  Henry  Barnard  said,  "  in 
perfect  order  and  ready  for  immediate  service,"  a 
march  to  which  he  believed  "  there  is  no  parallel  on 
record  ".  The  resolution  was  supported  by  Sardar 
Kajendra  Singh,  Mr.  Karandikar,  Mr.  Krishna  Baldeo 
Varma,  and  Hah/  Abdul  Rahim,  and   carried. 

Mr.  S.  Sinha  moved  Resolution  IV,  on  the  separa- 
tion of  Judicial  and  Executive  functions,  and  made 
a  very  able  speech,  reviewing  tlie  wliole  history  of  the 
controversy,  and  concluding  by  saying  that  the  Govern- 
ment must  rest  on  the  affection  of  the  people,  and 
that  that  could  "  only  be  secured  by  conferring  upon 
them  the  boon  of  justice,  not  the  justice  which  we 
enjoy  to-day,  half  milk  and  half  water,  adulterated 
justice,  but  real  and  righteous  British  Justice  ". 

The  Resolution  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Chail  Behari 
Lai,  supported  by  Bakshi  Ram  Lubhaya,  Messrs.  A 
Choudhuri,  C.  Y.  Chintamani,  Kali  Prasanna  Kavva- 
bisharad,  and  carried. 

Resolution  V  condemned  the  practical  exclusion  of 
Indians  from  several  of  the  Public  Services,  and  was 
moved  by  the   Hon.  Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji   in  a 


316  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

'  long  and  eloquent  speech.  He  contrasted  the  policy 
of  the  English  Rulers  with  the  policy  of  the 
Roman  Empire  of  old,  and  the  policy  of  the  great 
Akbar. 

In  the  case  of  Akbar,  the  grandsons  of  those  wlio  had 
fought  against  his  grandfather  became  the  captains  of  his 
army,  the  Governors  of  his  provinces,  the  confidential 
advisers  of  their  Sovereign.  It  was  a  policy  of  trust  and 
confidence,  a  policy  which  was  sanctified  by  the  immediate 
successors  of  the  great  Mughal.  I  am  sorry  that  in  the 
case  of  the  English  Rulers  of  India  it  is  no  longer  a  policy 
of  trust  and  confidence  but  a  policy  largely  leavened  by 
mistrust  and  suspicion.  Our  fathers,  as  soon  as  their  in- 
tellects were  stimulated  and  their  self-respect  enhanced 
by  the  education  which  they  received  at  the  hands  of 
Englislimen,  commenced  an  agitation  against  their  exclu- 
sion from  these  high  oflSces.  Therefore  this  Cjuestion 
comes  to  iis  in  the  light  of  a  heritage.  In  carrying 
on  this  agitation,  we  are  performing  an  act  of  filial  piet}', 
rendering  obeisance  to  the  adored  memory  of  our  sires, 
for  wliat  memories  in  Bengal  are  more  loved  or  respected 
tliiiii  those  of  Kristodas  Pal  and  Ram  Gopal  Ghose,  or 
wiiat  name  excites  greater  reverence  in  Bombay  than  tliat 
oi'  I)adal)liai  Naoroji  ? 

The  speaker  gave  figures  of  the  proportion  of 
Indians  in  flic  liighci"  a])pointments  in  the  Services  in 
Bengal.  In  the  Eorest  there  were  24  high  appoint- 
ments, 2  of  which  were  held  Ijy  Indians;  in  the  Opium 
77,  Indians  8;  tlie  Customs  8o,  Indians  2;  Preventive 
Branch  of  Customs  lo7,  IndiiinsO;  in  100  apprentices 
to  this,  1  iMirasian  ;  in  tlic  Survey,  Indians  0;  Super- 
intendents of  Gaols,  Indians  0  ;  in  the  Telegraphs  29 
appointments,  Indians  I  ;  in  flic  Police  102,  Indians 
5  ;  Calcutta  Police  10,  Indians  1  ;  and  all  this  in  face 
of  the  Proclamation  of  1858. 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CONGRESS  317 

Mr.  Gr.  Subramania  Iyer  seconded,  and  said  that 
the  statements  made  might  be  repeated  of  Madras. 
The  Eesohition  was  supported  by  Pandit  Eambhaj 
Datta  of  Lahore,  and  carried. 

Resolution  VI,  moved  by  Lala  Dwarkadas,  re- 
gretted the  suspension  of  the  right  of  electing  Fellows 
by  the  graduates  of  Calcutta  University,  and  the  non- 
carrying out  of  the  provisions  of  the  Act  constituting 
the  Panjab  University.  Mr.  Hem  Chandra  Rai 
seconded  for  Calcutta,  Mr.  Bepin  Behari  Bose  for 
Allahabad,  and  Mr.  Rustam  Cama  for  Bombay.  The 
carrying  of  the  Resolution  closed  the  second  day's 
work. 

The  third  day  opened  with  a  statement  by  the 
President  that  at  the  Subjects  Committee  it  was 
decided  to  postpone  the  discussion  of  the  Panjab  Land 
Alienation  Act  so  as  to  watch  its  working  for  a  year, 
since  the  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  delegates  dis- 
agreed on  it. 

The  seventh  Resolution,  thanking  Lord  Curzon  for 
his  famine  policy,  his  regulation  as  to  issuing  shoot- 
ing passes  to  soldiers,  and  his  proceedings  in 
the  Rangoon  and  O'Gara  cases,  was  moved  by 
Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji,  who  guarded  himself  from 
being  supposed  to  approve  the  Viceroy's  policy 
outside  the  points  named  in  the  Resolution.  He 
warmly  blamed  that  policy  with  regard  to  Local 
Self-Governraent,  Education,  and  Land  Legislation. 
But  in  checking  outrages  on  Indians  by  Europeans 
and  in  famine  relief,  he  had  done  well.  Mr.  Rustam 
Cama  seconded,  and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

25 


318  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    TOE    FREEDOM 

Resolution  VIII  on  Technical  Education,  IX  on 
Berar  Legislation,  X  the  Omnibus,  and  XI  on  a 
promised  annual  contribution  from  the  British 
exchequer  to  India,  were  put  from  the  Chair  and 
carried. 

Resolution  XII,  on  giving  half  a  day  at  each  Con- 
gress to  the  discussion  of  educational  and  industrial 
problems,  was  moved  by  Lala  Lajpat  Rai  in  Urdu,  and 
the  speech  was  unfortunately  not  reported.  Mr.  Duni 
Chand  seconded,  laying  stress  on  the  need  for 
practical    work,  and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  shortly  moved  Resolution  XIII, 
appointing  a  deputation  to  wait  on  the  Viceroy,  to 
submit  to  him  a  memorial  drawing  his  attention  to 
the  Resolutions  of  the  Congress  regarding  the  need  of 
separating  Judicial  and  Executive  functions,  of 
dealing  with  the  problem  of  Indian  poverty,  and  of 
enquiring  into  the  growing  impoverishment  of  the 
peasantry.  Munshi  Murlidhar  seconded,  and 
]\toulvi  Muhurram  Ali  Chisti  supported  with  equal 
brevity.     The  Resolution  was  carried. 

Lala  Har  Bhagavan  Das  moved  and  Mr.  Taraknath 
Mitra  seconded.  Resolution  XIV,  that  the  Panjab  be 
constituted  into  a  Regulation  Province.  It  was 
carried. 

Kumar  M.  X.  Choudhuri  moved  Resolution  XV, 
asking  for  legislation  against  liquor,  urging  that 
the  placing  of  cheap  liquor  within  the  reach  of 
the  poor  caused  immense  evils.  Drunkenness  which 
had  been  a  heinous  crime  had  become  a  pleasant  vice, 
inseparably     linked     with     western    civilisation,    and 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CONGRESS  319 

Keshab  Chandi-a  Sen  had  complained  that  the  British 
Government  had  brought  Shakspere  and  Milton  to  them 
but  also  brandy  bottles.  The  Excise  Commission  of 
1883  showed  the  great  increase  of  drunkenness  among 
the  labouring  class,  whose  simplicity,  innocence  and 
industrious  habits  were  fading  away  with  the  increase. 
Lala  Beni  Prasad  seconded,  and  the  Resolution  was 
carried. 

Resolution  XVI,  congratulating  Mr.  Caine  on  his 
election  to  Parliament,  and  Resolution  XVII  assigning 
Rs.  30,000  to  the  British  Committee  and  India  were 
put  from  the  Chair  and  carried. 

Resolution  XVIII  condemned  the  neAv  Rules  restrict- 
ing the  admission  of  Indians  to  Cooper's  Hill  College 
and  Roorki,  and  was  moved  by  Mr.  J.  Choudhuri,  who 
pointed  out  that  Cooper's  Hill  College  was  built  with 
Indian  money,  but  only  two  Indians  a  year  might 
enter  it.  Indians  went  to  England  at  a  great  cost  of 
social  sacrifice  and  money,  and  were  told  :  "  Intel- 
lectually you  may  be  our  equals  ;  still,  so  far  as  the 
appropriation  of  the  fishes  and  loaves  of  your  country 
go,  you  are  not."  The  Roorki  regulation  also  placed 
special  restrictions  on  Indians.  "  The  policy  pursued 
by  Government  with  regard  to  the  Cooper's  Hill  and 
Roorki  appointments  is  both  unjust  to  us  as  a 
Nation,  and  unworthy  of  a  Government  which 
professes  to  administer  the  country  in  our  inter- 
ests." Mr.  A.  C.  Parthasarathi  Naidu  seconded,  and 
Mr.  S.  M.  Paranjpe  supported  ;  he  urged  that,  after 
all,  Indian  buildings  were  not  so  bad,  before  Cooper's 
Hill    existed;     they    lasted    for     many    hundreds     of 


320  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

years.     "  A\'e  Indians   and  black   men  can   do  "   these 
things. 

Our  humble  aspirations  are  for  preparing  our  roads 
and  building-  our  bridges,  so  that  Indian  bridges  and 
Indian  roads  may  be  prepared  and  built  by  Indians.  We 
never  aspire  to  go  to  Southampton  and  prepare  the  roads 
for  Southampton.  We  do  not  aspire  to  build  bridges 
over  the  Tbames.  If  we  do  not  wish  to  go  to  England  to 
perform  these  things,  naturally  the  question  may  be 
asked,  whether  Indians  may  not  be  allowed  to  construct 
their  own  roads  and  their  own  bridges. 

A  modest  request  enough,  after  all.  Tlie  Resolu- 
tion was  put  and  carried. 

Resolution  XIX,  thanking  Sir  William  W  edderburn, 
Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji  and  Mr.  A.  0.  Hume  for 
their  great  services,  was  pnt  from  the  Chair  and 
carried  amid  loud  cheers.  Resolution  XX,  on  South 
Africa,  was  also  put  from  the  Chair  and  carried. 

Mr.  Thakur  Das  moved  Resolution  XXI,  asking 
that  qualified  Indians  might  be  placed  on  the 
Committee  to  consider  the  proposal  to  establish 
Agricultural  Banks ;  the  Resolution  was  seconded 
by  Pandit  (iyaneshvara  Shastri,  and  carried,  the 
latter  gentleman  renuirking,  in  his  two-minutes  speech, 
that  it  was  a  *'  horse-race  to-day ".  Certainly  the 
work  went  fast. 

Resolution  XXII,  lamenting  the  loss  of  Bakshi 
Jaishi  Ram,  was  put  from  tlie  Chair  and  carried 
unanimously. 

Then  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malavij^a  moved 
Resolution  Xill,  on  Permanent  Settlement;  he  said 
that  in  the  midst  of  much  to  admire  and  to  be  grateful 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CONGRESS  821 

for  in  Britisli  Rule,  the  note  of  distress  and  poverty 
was  sounding  louder  and  louder.  From  living  and 
moving  among  the  people,  they  knew  how  they 
existed  under  the  present  system.  He  criticised  the 
answer  of  the  Viceroy  to  the  Madras  Mahajana 
Sabha,  pointing  out  its  unfairness  in  ignoring  all  the 
suggestions  for  remedying  poverty  made  by  the 
Congress.  Bengal  had  escaped  famine  by  its  Perman- 
ent Settlement,  and  other  Provinces  should  be  given 
similar  relief. 

Mr.  V.  E,.  Nambier  seconded  the  Resolution,  and 
it  was  carried. 

Mr.  Bhupendranath  Basu  moved  Resolution  XXIV, 
criticising  the  Indian  Mines  Bill,  making  a  speech 
full  of  sound  wisdom.  Some  objected  to  political 
agitation  and  urged  them  to  turn  rather  towards 
industrial  development.  "  They  say  :  Dissolve  your 
Congresses  and  Conferences ;  shut  up  your  news- 
papers ;  and,  like  dumb  beings  work  out  your  destiny  ; 
devote  your  whole  energy  to  the  consideration  of 
industrial  questions."  But,  said  Bhupendranath  Babu, 
industries  were  doomed  without  political  freedom  : 

Where  is  the  country  in  the  world,  I  ask  you 
assembled  delegates  and  visitors,  which  would  put  counter- 
Tailing  duties  upon  its  own  produce,  in  order  that  foreign 
producers  may  be  put  on  terms  of  equalitj^  ?  I  ask  you, 
where  is  the  country  that  will  put  a  duty  upon  an  article 
of  consumption  like  sugar,  in  order  that  foreign  producers 
and  merchants  might  be  benefited  ?  I  ask  you,  again, 
where  is  the  country  that  will  introduce  and  undertake 
factory  legislation  in  order  to  suppress  and  repress 
factories,  and  make  their  work  difficult  ?  Therefore  those 
who  pin  their  faith  upon  industry   alone  must  beware. 


322  Plow    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

These  arguments  are  as  cogent  now  as  then.  Politi- 
cal freedom  is  the  condition  of  industrial  success. 
The  proposed  legislation  took  no  notice  of  the 
Indian  habit  of  families  all  working  together ; 
ignored  the  fact  that  there  were  no  labour  disputes, 
no  complaints  from  either  employers  or  employed. 
The  legislation  would  ruin  a  flourishing  industry,  and 
the  miners  asked  to  be  saved  from  it.  Mr.  J.  Grhosal 
formally  seconded  the   Resolution,  and  it  was  carried. 

The  President  then  put  from  the  Chair  Resolu- 
tion XXV,  re-appointing  Mr.  A.  0.  Hume  and 
Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  to  their  offlces,  constituting  the 
Indian  Congress  Committee,  and  the  Industrial  and 
Educational  Committees  for  1901,  and  it  was  carried. 
Mr.  Bhupendranath  Basu  invited  the  Congress  to 
meet  in  Calcutta  in  1901,  and,  with  the  President's 
concluding  speech,  the  Sixteenth  National  Congress 
dissolved,  and  sent  its  members  forth  into  the  new 
century's  work,  the  century  which  shall  see  their 
labours  crowned  with  success. 

RESOLUTIONS 

Congress  Constitution 

I.  Resolved — TluU  ]lulc  i  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Congress 
Comiriittee  be  amended  as  follows  : 

"  Its  affaii's  shall  be  mnnaged  by  a  Committee  styled  the  Indian 
Congress  Committee  consisting  of,  besides  the  ex-officio  members 
referred  to  below,  45  Members  elected  by  the  Congress,  40  of  whom 
shall  be  elected  upon  the  recommendations  of  the  different  Provin- 
cial Congress  Committees,  and,  in  the  absence  of  such  Committees, 
by  the  delegates  of  the  respective  Provinces  in  Congress  assembled, 
in  the  manner  hereinbelow  laid  down,  that  is  to  say  : 

For  Bengal  including  Assam  ...  ...      7 

„    Bombay  including  Sindh  ...  ...     7 

,,    Madras  ...  ...  ...  ...     7 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CONGRESS  323 

For  N.  W.  P.  including  Oudh  ...  ...  7 

,,     Panjab              ...              ...  ...  ...  6 

„    Berar                ...              ...  ...  ...  3 

„    Central   Provinces          ...  ...  ...  3 

"  The  ex-officio  membeis  shall  be  the  President  of  the  Congress 
and  President-elect  from  the  day  of  his  nomination,  the  Ex-Presi- 
dents of  the  Congress,  the  Secretary  and  Assistant  Secretary  of 
the  Congress,  the  Chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Reception  Committee,  to  be  nominated  by  the 
Reception  Committee. 

"  The  term  of  office  of  the  Members  of  the  Committee  shall 
be  the  period  intervening  between  two  ordinary  meetings  of  the 
Congress." 

Famine  Enquiry 

II.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  oft-recurring 
famines  in  India,  and  the  manifestly  decreasing  power  of  resistance 
on  the  part  of  its  population  in  the  face  of  a  single  failure  of 
harve&t,  leading  as  it  frequently  does  to  human  suffering,  loss  of 
life,  destruction  of  live-stock,  disorganisation  of  rural  operations 
and  interference  with  the  legitimate  work  of  the  administrative 
machinery,  the  Congress  hereby  earnestly  prays  that  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  may  be  pleased  to  institute  at  an  early  date  a  full 
and  independent  enquiry  into  the  economic  condition  of  the  people 
of  India  with  a  view  to  the  ascertainment  and  adoption  of  practic- 
able remedies. 

Military 

III.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  devoted  and  loyal 
services  i-endered  by  Indian  soldiers  in  the  service  of  the  Empire, 
the  Congress  again  urges  on  the  Grovemment — 

(a)  The  desirability  of  throwing  ojien  to  them  the  higher 
grades  of  the  Military  Service  ;  and 

(b)  The  establishment  of  Militaiy  Colleges  in  India,  at 
which  Natives  of  India,  as  defined  by  Statute,  may  be  educated  and 
trained  for  a  military  career,  as  Commissioned  or  Non-Commission- 
ed  Officers,  according  to  capacity  and  qualifications,  in  the  Indian 
Army. 

Separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive  Functions 

IV.  Resolved — That  this  Congre.ss  notices  with  satisfaction 
the  support  of  public  ojiinion,  both  in  England  and  in  India,  which 
the  question  of  the  separation  of  the  Judicial  from  the  Executive 
functions  in  the  administration  of  justice  has  received  ;  and  this  Con- 
gress, while  thanking  Lord  Hobhouse,  Sir  Richard  Garth,  Sir  Richard 


324  HOW   INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

Couch,  Sir  Charles  Sergeant,  Sir  WiUiam  Markby,  Sir  John  Budd- 
Phear,  Sir  John  Scott,  Sir  Roland  K.  Wilson,  Mr.  Herbert  J.  Reynolds 
and  Sir  William  Wedderburn  for  presenting  a  petition  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  in  Council  to  effect  the  much-needed  separation, 
earnestly  hopes  that  the  Government  of  India  will  give  their 
earliest  attention  to  the  petition  which  has  been  forwarded  to 
them,  and  will  take  practical  steps  for  speedily  carrying  out  this 
much -needed  reform. 

Public  Service 

V.  Resolved — That  the  Congress  regrets  the  practical  exclu- 
sion of  natives  of  India  from  the  higher  appointments  in  the  Police, 
the  Public  Works,  the  State  Railways,  the  Opium,  the  Customs,  the 
Telegraph,  the  Survey  and  other  Deiiartments,  and  prays  that  full 
justice  be  done  to  the  claims  of  the  people  of  India  in  regard  to 
these  appointments. 

XVIII.  Resolved — That,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Congress,  the 
new  rules  restricting  the  number  of  Indians  eligible  to  qualify 
themselves  for  employment  in  the  Engineering  Branch  of  the 
Indian  Public  Works  Department,  through  the  Cooper's  Hill  College, 
to  a  maximum  of  two  only  in  a  year,  should  be  withdrawn  as  a 
matter  of  bare  justice  to  the  people  of  this  country,  and  that  the 
said  College  should  be  made  available  equally  for  the  use  of  all 
subjects  of  Her  Majesty  ;  and  the  Congress  is  further  of  opinion 
that  the  invidious  distinction  made  between  Indians  and  Anglo- 
Indians  as  regards  the  guaranteed  appointments  in  connection 
with  the  College  at  Roorki  should  be  withdrawn  and  that  these 
appointments  should  be  made  available  to  all  Her  Majesty's  Indian 
su))jects  in  all  parts  of  the  coTtntry, 

Election  of  University  Fello'ws 

VI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  regrets  the  suspension  of 
the  privileges  accorded  to  the  graduates  of  a  certain  standing  of 
the  Calcutta  University  to  return  Fellows  to  the  University,  and 
the  fact  that  effect  is  not  given  to  the  provisions  of  the  Act  con- 
stituting the  Panjab  University  with  regard  to  the  election  of 
Fellows  by  the  Senate,  and  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  desirable,  in  the 
interests  of  sound  education,  to  confer  the  privilege  of  electing 
Fellows  upon  the  graduates  of  Indian  Universities  where  it  does 
not  exist,  and  of  extending  it.  where  it  does  exist. 

Thanks  of  Congress 

VII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  record  its 
gratitude  to  H.  E.  the  Viceroy  for  the  benevolence  of  his  famine 
policy,  and  for  his  firm  resolve  to  uphold  the  interests  of  order  and 
justice,  as  evidenced  in  the  regulations  recently  issued  regarding 
the  grant  of  shooting  passes  to  soldiers  and  his  proceedings  in 
connection  with  the  Rangoon  and  O'Gara  cases. 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CONGRESS  325 

XL  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  while  expressing  its 
grateful  acknowledgments  for  the  annual  contribution  of 
£  257,000  promised  to  he  made  from  the  British  to  the  Indian 
Exchet[uer  in  accordance  ^Yith  the  recommendations  of  the  majority 
of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Indian  Exiienditure,  respectfully 
desires  to  point  out  that  for  doing  adequate  justice  to  the  claims 
of  India  so  far  as  admitted  by  that  Commission  it  is  necessary 
that  she  should  be  granted  the  arrears  jjayable  on  this  account  for 
the  past  many  years,  and  prays  that  the  British  Parliament  will  be 
pleased  to  make  this  grant. 

XIX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  begs  to  record  its  high  and 
grateful  appreciation  of  the  services  rendered  to  this  country  and 
the  Congress  movement  by  Sir  William  Wedderburn,  Mr.  Dadabhai 
Naoroji,  and  Mr.  A.  O.  Hume,  and  to  express  its  regret  at  the  retire- 
ment of  Sir  William  Wedderburn  from  Parliament,  where  he  render- 
ed great  and  valuable  services  to  this  ccmnti-y,  and  hopes  that  he 
may  soon  return  to  Parliament  to  renew  his  labour  of  love  for  the 
peojjle  of  India. 

Education 

VIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  places  on  record  its 
conviction  that  the  system  of  Technical  Education  now  in  vogue  is 
inadequate  and  uusatisfactoiy,  and  prays  that,  having  regai'd  to 
the  poverty  of  the  people  and  the  decline  of  indigenous  industries, 
the  Government  will  introduce  a  more  elaborate  and  efficient 
scheme  of  technical  instruction,  and  set  apart  more  funds  for  a 
successful  working  of  the  same.  And  this  Congress  desires  to 
express  its  grateful  appreciation  of  the  patriotic  and  mxinificent 
gift  of  Mr.  Tata  for  the  promotion  of  higher  scientific  education 
and  research. 

Berar  Legislation 

IX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  ojjinion  that  so  long 
as  Berar  is  administered  by  the  Governor-General  in  Council,  all 
lavfs  and  orders  having  the  force  of  law,  intended  for  Berar,  should 
be  enacted  by  the  Supreme  Legislative  Council  in  the  same  way  as 
those  for  British  India  projier. 

Confirmation  of  Previous  Resolutions 

X.  Resolved — (I)  That  this  Congress  concurs  with  previous 
Congresses  in  strongly  advocating  :  [1897,  (b)  (d)  (e)  {g)~\. 

That  this  Congress,  concurring  with  previous  Congresses, 
records  its  protest :  [1897,  (a)  and  (b) ;  1899,  (c)  and  (d)]. 

This  Congress,  concurring  with  jirevious  Congresses,  expresses 
its  con\action  :   [1899,  (a)  to  (c)]. 


326  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Education  and  Industry 

XII.  Resolved — That  the  Congress  hereby  approves  of  the 
suggestion  presented  by  the  Indian  Congress  Comniittee  for  the 
consideration  of  this  Session  that  at  least  half  a  day  at  each  annual 
Session  of  the  Congress  be  devoted  to  the  consideration  and  dis- 
cussion of  the  Industrial  and  Educational  problems  of  the  country. 
Further  resolved  that  annually  two  Committees  be  appointed  by 
the  Congress,  one  for  Educational  and  one  for  Industrial  subjects,  to 
consider  and  suggest  means  for  the  Education  and  Industrial 
improvement  of  the  country  and  to  assist  therein,  aud  that  to  each 
Committee  a  Secretary  be  annually  appointed.  These  Committees 
shall  divide  themselves  into  Provincial  Committees  with  power  to 
add  to  their  numT)er. 

Deputation  to  the  Yiceroy 

XTII.  Resolved — That  the  following  Memorial  be  submitted 
to  His  Excellency  the  Viceroy  in  Council  by  a  deputation  con- 
sisting of  the  following  gentlemen  : 

Hon.  P.M.  Mehta. 
Hon.  W.C.  Bannerji. 
Hon.  Ananda  Charlu. 
Hon.  Surendranath  Bannerji. 
Hon.  Munshi  Madho  Lai. 
Mr.  R.  N.  Mudholkar. 
Mr.  R.  M.  Sayani. 
Mr.  Harkishan  Lai. 

YorR  Excellency, 

W'r,  on  behalf  of  the  delegates  assembled  at  the  16th  Session 
of  the  Indian  National  Congx-css  at  Lahore  in  December  last,  have 
the  honour  to  submit  most  respectfully  for  the  consideration  of 
Your  Excellency  in  Council  the  accompanying  Resolutions  passed 
by  that  assembly,  and  specially  the  following  questions  which 
have  long  been  before  the  country,  anil  whicli,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  Congress,  now  await  a  speedy  solution  of  a  ])ractical  and 
beneficent  character. 

1 .  The  question  of  the  extreme  desirability  of  separating 
.hulicial  from  Executive  functions  has  now  been  so  well  recognised, 
and  there  exists  such  a  strong  consensus  of  opinion  on  the  subject, 
official  and  non-official,  that  your  Memorialists  are  earnestly  of 
hope  that  the  Government  M-ill  be  pleased  at  an  early  date  to 
introduce  this  popular  reform  in  the  administi'ation  of  the 
country. 

2.  The  increasing  poverty  of  the  peasantry  in  the  greater 
part  of  the  country,  and  their  consequent  inability  to  maintain 
themselves    without    State    and   i)rivate    benevolence   at    the    very 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CONGRESS  327 

outset  of  scarcity  or  famine,  is  another  pressing  problem.  Your 
Memorialists  are  fully  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  serious  attention 
of  the  Government  has  been  engaged  on  it,  and  they  trust  that 
some  efhcacious  remedy  will  lie  soon  found  which  may  greatly 
contribute  to  mitigate  that  severe  poverty,  and  enable  the  jjeasantry 
to  better  resist  the  strain  which  years  of  bad  harvests  or  scarcity 
may  entail  on  them. 

3.  That  in  view  of  the  condition  to  which  the  recent 
famines  have  reduced  the  ryots,  the  Government  will  be  so  good  as 
to  cause  an  exhaustive  enquiry  to  be  instituted  into  their  growing 
impoverishment  by  means  of  an  independent  Commission. 

Panjab 

XIV.  Resolved — That  the  Congress  respectfully  urges  upon 
the  Government  that  in  its  opinion  the  time  has  come  when  the 
Panjab  should  be  constituted  into  a  Regulation  Province. 

Liquor  Legislation 

XV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  views  with  grave  alarm 
and  deep  regret  the  rapid  increase  in  the  consumption  of  intoxicants, 
specially  liquor,  in  the  country,  and  the  Congress  is  of  opinion 
that  the  cheap  supply  of  liquor,  etc.,  is  alone  responsible  for  this. 
The  Congress,  therefore,  fervently  appeals  to  the  Government  of 
India  to  pass  measures  like  the  Maine  Liquor  Law  of  America,  and 
introduce  Bills  like  Sir  Wilfrid  Lawson's  Permissive  Bill  or  the 
Local  Option  Act,  and  impose  an  additional  tax  upon  intoxicants 
not  intended  to  be  used  as  medicine.  The  Congress  records  its 
firm  conviction  that  if  the  Government  do  not  take  these  practical 
steps  immediately,  the  moral,  material  and  physical  deterioration 
of  those  classes,  among  whom  liquor,  etc.,  have  obtained  a  tirm 
hold,  woidd  be  inevitable  ;  and  as  intoxicants  have  already  affected 
the  great  labouring  class,  the  benevoleat  intention  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  help  the  growth  of  the  Indian  Arts  and  Industries  would 
bear  no  fruit.  The  Congress  gives  great  importance  to  this  ques- 
tion, which,  it  strongly  believes,  is  intimately  connected  with  the 
material  progress  of  the  country,  and  emphatically  protests  against 
the  cheap  sujjply  of  liquor,  etc. 

Congratulations  of  Congress 

XVI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  offers  its  sincere  and 
hearty  congratulations  to  Mr.  W.  S.  Caine  on  his  election  to 
Parliament,  and  expresses  its  confidence  in  him  as  a  trusted 
friend  of  the  people  of  India  and  a  pi-omoter  of  their  best 
interests. 

Congress  Work 

XVII.  Resolved— That  a  sum  of  Rs.  30,000  be  assigned  for 
the  expenses  of  the  British  Committee  and  the  cost  of  the 
publication  of  India. 


328  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

South  Africa 

XX.  Resolved— That  this  Congress  once  more  draws  the 
attention  of  the  Indian  Govei-nment  as  well  as  of  the  Secretarj'  of 
State  for  India  to  the  grievances  of  the  British  Indians  in  South 
Africa,  and  earnestly  hopes  that  in  view  of  the  re-ai'rangement  of 
the  boundaries  in  that  Continent  and  the  incorporation  of  the  late 
Boer  Republics  into  the  British  Dominions,  the  disabilities  under 
which  the  Indian  settlers  labom'ed  in  those  Republics,  and  as  to 
which  Her  Majesty's  Government  owing  to  their  independence  in 
internal  matters  felt  powerless  to  obtain  redress,  will  now  no  longer 
exist,  and  that  the  serious  inconvenience  caused  to  the  settlers  in 
Natal,  among  others  by  the  Immigration  Restrictions  and  the 
Dealer's  Licences  Acts  of  that  Colony,  which  are  manifestly 
inconsistent  with  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  British 
Constitution  as  also  the  Proclamation  of  1858,  will  be  materially 
mitigated,  if  not  entirely  removed. 

Indians  on  Committee 

XXI.  Resolved — That  tlie  CUmgrcss  bogs  to  suggest  to 
the  Government  of  India  that  qualified  Indian  members, 
representing  the  different  Provinces,  may  bo  nominated  to  the 
Committee,  recently  formed,  in  coniioction  with  the  proposal  of 
starting  Agricultural  Banks  in  India. 

Sorrows  of  Congress 

XXIT.  Rosolved^That  this  Congress  desires  to  put  on  record 
its  deep  sense  of  the  loss  sustained  by  the  death  of  Bakshi  Jaishi 
Ram,  who  was  one  of  the  staunch  supporters  of  the  Congress  for 
many  a  year  and  rendered  valuable  services  to  it  in  connection 
with  his  own  I'rovinoe. 

Permanent  Settlement 

XXIII.  Resolved — Thiit  while  thanking  tlie  Government  of 
India  for  its  intention  to  invt^stigate  the  t|uostion  of  the  incidt^K  e 
and  pressure  of  the  land  assessment  as  affecting  the  well-being  and 
resources  of  the  agricultural  population,  the  Congress  respectfully 
urges  upon  the  Government  tlie  dosii-ability  of  including  within  the 
scope  of  the  contemplated  investigation  the  question  of  periodical 
settlement  of  assessments  and  the  necessity  repeatedly  pointed 
out  by  the  Congress  of  making  it  permanent.  This  Congress 
further  prays  that  the  Government  of  India  may  be  pleased  to 
publish  the  opinions  invited  from  Local  Governments  and 
Administrations,  on  the  subject  referred  to  in  para  4  of  the 
Resolution  of  the  Government  of  India  (Revenue  and  Agricultural 
Uoi)artment)  published  in  The  (Uizette  of  India  dated  22nd  December, 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CONGRESS  329 

1900,  and  allow  the  public  an  opportunity  to  make  their  repi-e- 
sentations  thereon  before  the  Government  decides  whether  further 
investigation  is  necessary  or  not  in  the  terms  of  the  said 
Resolution. 

Indian  Mines 

XXIV.  Resolved — That  the  Congress  respectfully  submits 
tliat  the  provisions  of  the  Indian  Mines  Bill,  so  far  as  they  impose 
restrictions  on  the  employment  of  labour,  be  omitted,  and  that  the 
penal  provisions  thereof  may  not  be  put  in  force  for  a  period  of 
5  years,  and  that,  in  the  meantime,  mining  schools  be  opened  in 
suitable  centres  where  young  men  may  qualify  themselves  for 
employment  under  the  Act. 

Formal 

XXV.  Resolved— (a)  That  this  Congress  appoints  Mr.  A.  0. 
Hume,  C.B.,  the  Genei-al  Secretary,  and  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha,  the  Joint 
General  Secretary,  for  the  ensuing  year. 

(h)  That   the    following   gentlemen  do  constitute    the  Indian 
Congress  Committee  for  1901  : 

EX-OFFICIO  MEMBERS 

1.  The  Hon   W.  C.   Bannerji  (1885). 

2.  The  Hon.  Dadabhai  Naoroji  (188H). 

The  Hon.  Budrudin  Tyabji  (1887). 

(Now  Judge,  Bombay  High  Court).  (Dead)  (1888). 

3.  Sir  William  Wedderburn  (1889). 

4.  The  Hon.  Pherozeshah  Mehta  (1890).     _ 

5.  The  Hon.  Ananda  Charlu  (1891). 

The  Hon.  W.  C.  Bannerji  (1892).     (Second    time). 
The  Hon.  Dadabliai  Naoroji  (1893).    (Second  time). 
G.     Alfred  Webb  Esq.  (1894). 

7.  The  Hon.  Surendranath  Bannerji  (1895), 

8.  The  Hon.  R.  M.  Sayani  (1896). 

9.  The  Hon.  C.   Sankaran  Nair  (1897). 

10.  The  Hon.  A.  M.  Bose  (1898). 

11.  R.  C.  Dutt,  Esq.  (1899). 

The  Hon.  N.  G.  Chandravarkar  (1900).  (Now  Judge, 
Bombay  High  Court). 

12.  D.  E.  Wacha,  Esq.,  General  Secretary, 
i:?.     Alfred  Nundy  Esq.,  Assistant  Secretary. 

14.  Chairman  ofthe  Reception  Committee,  Calcutta. 

15.  Secretary  of  the  Reception  Committee,  Calcutta. 

16.  President-elect  of  the  Congress  for  1901. 

26 


330 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


General  List  : 

Mr.  J.  Ghosal. 
Pandit  Bishambariiatli. 
Mr.  R.  N.  Mudholkar. 
H on .  Vi j iarag'havach a ri . 
Mr.  W.  A.  Chambers. 

Bkngal  : 

Hon.    Baiknntlianath  Sen. 

Mr.  Saligi'am  Singh. 

Mr.  Ambikacharan  Mozunidar. 

Mr.   Motilal  Ghose. 

Rai  Yatindranath  Choudhuri. 

Mr.  Bhupendranath  Basu. 

Mr.  Prithwis  Chandra  Roy. 

N.  W.  P.  &  OriJH  : 

Hon.  Munshi  Madho  Lai. 
Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya. 
Mr.  Bisliau  Narayan  Dhar. 
MiinHlii  Ganga  Prasad  Vai'ma. 
Mr.   S.  Sinha. 
Pandit  Prithwinath. 
Hafiz  .\bdnl  Ruhiiii. 

^L\IJRAS  : 

Mr.   P.   llnngiya  Naidu. 
Mr.  G.  Subramania  Iyer. 
Hon.    Nawab  Syod  Muhammad 

Bahadur. 
Mr.  P.  Ramchandi-a  Pillai. 
Mr.  V.  Ryru  Naiul>ipr-. 
Mr.  P.  Kosava  Pillai. 
Mr.  G.  Srinavasa  Rao. 

(r)     That  the   following   - 
Committee,  with  Mr.   Tlarkishan 

Bent. At. : 

Hon.  Baiknntlianath  Sen. 
Kumar  Manmathanatli  Hai 

Cluiiiflhiiri. 
Mr.    Pidin  i5ili:iri  Saikar. 
Mr.   Radharaniaii  Kar. 
Mr.  .1.  Clioudhiiri. 
Mr.   Hhiipendranath  Basu. 


BOMB.AY: 

Mr.  Rustam  K.  R.  Cama. 

Mr.  Daji  Abaji  Khare. 

Mr.  C.  H.  Setahvad. 

Hon.  Professor  (i.  K.  Gokliale. 

Mr.  Bal  Gangadhar  Tilak. 

Mr.  R.  P.  Karandikar. 

Mr.  Tahil  Ram  Khem  Chand. 

Berar  : 


Mr.  M.  V.  J(.shi. 
Mr.  Deorao  Yinayak. 
Mr.  G.  S.  Khaparde. 

Central  Provinces: 

Mr.    Huparoodwada. 
Mr.   Krishna  Rao  Vainnn. 
■      Mr.  Raoji  Gobind. 

Pan JAB : 

Rai  Bahadur  Bab  a  Kali  Prasanna 

Rai,  Pleader,  Chief  Court 
Lala    Harkishan  Lai.   Barrister- 

at-Law. 
Rai    Sahab  Sukh  Dyal,  Pleader, 

Chief  Court. 
Lala  Lajpat  Rai,  Pleader,  Chief 

Court. 
Lala  Dharam  Das  Suri,  Pleader, 

Chief  Court, 
fjala      Kanhaya     Lai,    Pleader, 

(.■hief  Court. 

gentlemen    do  foi'm    the  InduHtri;il 
Lai  as  Secretary,  for  1901. 

.Mr.  .\khoy  Kumar  Maitra. 
Mr.  Gaganendranath  Tagore. 
Mr.  Mohini  Molian  Chakravarti. 
Mr.  Akhoy-Kuniar  Majunular. 
Mr.  Kali  Prasanna  Kavyabisarad. 

Mr.  Lai  it  Chandra  Sen. 

Mr.  Pramada   Gobinda  Clioud- 
hnri. 

Mr.  Tarapada  Hanncrji. 


THE    SIXTEENTH    CONGRESS 


331 


\.XJAI?  : 

Mr. 

Harkishan  Lai, 

Mr. 

Lajpat  Eai. 

Mr. 

Balak  Ram. 

Mr. 

Dwarka  Das. 

Mr. 

Kashi  Ram. 

Mr. 

Duui  Chand. 

Mr. 

Lai  Chaud. 

Mr. 

Prabhu  Dyal. 

Bombay : 

Professor  Gajar. 
Mr.  .J.  N.  Tata. 
Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha. 


Mr.  Bepin  Bihari  Bose. 

Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Mala\-iya. 

Central  Pr<)vince.s  : 
Mr.  Raoji  Gobind. 


Mauras  : 

Mr.  C.  Sankaran  Nair 

Mr.  G.  Siibramaiiia  Iyer. 

Mr.  P.  Kesava  Pillai. 

Mr.  K.  P.  Achyiita  Menon. 

Mr.  T.  Rangacbari. 

Hon.  P.  Ratnasabhapati  Pillai. 

Hon.  V.  Venkataratnam. 


X.  W.  P.  &  Oui>H  : 

Mr.   Bansi  Lai  Siutfh. 
I^Ir.  Ganga  Prasad  Vanna. 
Mr.  S.  Siuha. 
Mr.  K.  P.  Basak. 


BerAR : 

Mr.  D.  V.  Bhagawat. 

Mr.  R.  N.  Mudholkar. 

Mr.  Deorao  Vinayak. 

Mr.  Ganesh  Xao-esh. 


(d)     That   the  following  gentlemen  do  form  the    Educational 
Committee,  with  Mr.  Harkishan  Lai  as  Secretary,  for  190L 


Bengal ; 

Hon.  A.  M.  Bose. 

Hon.  Sureudrauath  Bannerji. 

Dr.  Nilratan  Sircar. 

Mr.  Heramba  Chandra  Maitra. 

Mr.  Aswini  Kumar  Dutt. 

Mr.   Pear}-  Lai  Ghosh. 

Mr.   Raghunath  Das. 

Mr.  Prithwis  Chandra  Roy. 

Mr.   Krishna  Kumar  Mitra. 

Mr.   Syamaoharan  Roy. 


Paxjab : 

Ml-.  Harkishan  Lai 
Mr.  Lajpat  Eai. 
Mr.  Balak  Ram. 
Mr.   Ishwar  Das. 
Mr.  Lai  Chand. 
Mr.  Shadi;Lal. 


Bombay : 

Hon.  Professor  G.  K.  Gokhale. 
Mr.   Chimanlal  H.  Setalwad. 
Mr    Rustam  K.  R.  Cama. 
Mr.   B.  G.  Tilak. 

N.  W.  P.  &  OiDH  : 

Mr.  A.  Nundy. 

Mr.  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya. 

Mr.  Bishan  Narayan  Dhar. 

Mr.  G.  L.  Maitra'. 

Mr.  Ganga  Prasad  Varma. 

Mr.  Ramananda  Cliatterji. 

Mr.  Bepin  Bihari  Bose. 

Mr.   K.  P.  Basak. 

Pandit  Hari  Ram  Pande. 

Pandit  Tej   Bahadur  Sapru. 

Central   Provinces  : 
Mr.  S.  B.  Gokhale. 


332 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Madras  : 

Hon.  Rai  Bahadur  P.  Auauda 

Charlu,  CLE 
Hon.  C.  Yijiaraghavachari. 
Hon.  Rai  Baliadur    C.  Janibn- 

lingain  Mudaliar. 
Mr.  Y.  Ryru  Nambier. 
Mr.  C.  Karunakara  Menon. 


Mr. 
Mr. 


V.  C.  Desikachariar. 

S.  Kasturiranga  Ij'engar. 


Berar : 

Mr.  M.  V.  Joshi. 
Mr.  R.  N.  Mudholkar. 
Mr.  G.  S.  Khaparde. 
Mr.  D.  V.  Bhagawat. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Calcutta,  welcomed  the  Seventeenth  National 
Congress  in  a  great  Pavilion  erected  in  Beadon 
Sqaare,  lent  for  the  occasion  by  the  Calcutta  Corpora- 
tion, The  whole  square  offered  a  brilliant  scene,  the 
Industrial  Exhibition  having  its  own  separate  Pavilion, 
and  both  being  gay  with  flags.  The  Congress 
Pavilion  was  beautifully  decorated  Avith  coloured 
foliage  plants  and  palms,  and  was  lighted  by  electricity. 
896  delegates  were  present,  distributed  as  follows  : 


Beni>'al 

580 

N.  W.  P.  and  Oudh           

89 

Punjab 

30 

C.  P.,  Berar  and  Secunderabad  ... 

44 

Bombay  (43)  and  Sindh  (8) 

51 

Madras 

102 

896 

A.fter  the  President-elect's  procession  had  made  its 
slow  way  through  the  crowd,  a  song,  "Hindustan,^' 
composed  by  Sarola  Devi  Grhosal  was  sung  by  a  choir 
of  58  men  and  boys,  the  nearly  400  volunteers  joining 
tlie  chorus  with  fine  effect. 


381.  HOW    1N1)[A    WROTTOTTT    FOR    VIMOKDOAT 

Maliavajfi  Jialiadiir  Jai^'adiiHli-aiiaili  Uai  Biiliadiir 
of  Natore,  Mm  Cliiiiniiaii  of  tlm  K'cccpt  ion  Coiii- 
inittee,  wcIcoiikmI  I  lie  dcU^f^'Jilcs  in  :i  o-i-ncclul 
sptH'cli,  sayin;4'  tlint  lie  liiid  mdy  \  ciil  iircd  loncci'])! 
tlic  lidiioiir  olTci'cd  ((I  liiin  "l)i'c:insc  il  li;is  Im>(mi  t  lit^ 
one  g'l'cal  ;inilnli(Mi  o|'  \]\\  lil'c  In  piin  llic  ^;lld^sol 
those  wild  lliiiik',  lliD^c  wild  riM'l,;iiid  I  lidsc  wlid  work 
for  tlicii'  (•diiiilr\  ".  lie  spoke  willi  deep  Icclilij^"  ol 
llic  I'assitii;-  dl'  I  lie  (ircal  (^)ii(m'Ii,  wliose  words  were 
tli(!  Manila  Cai'taof  India  :  "  Tliat  ni('ssa<^'(i  so  lull  of 
syinpailiN'  for  an  alien  siiiijeel  race,  so  iioMe  and 
li])eral  in  its  spiril,  Sd  iiia|^aii(ieent  I v  just  in  ils  pdliey, 
would  alone  lia\i'  wmi  I  lie  etei-nal  L;-iatiliide  and 
nnllineliin^  loyalty  ol  Imm-  Indian  siilijeels."  The 
Xalional  ('onj^rcjss,  the  em  Ixxl  inieiil  of  India's  hopes 
and  aspirations,  Ixnai  in  her  reij^'ii,  would  lor  e\(>r 
link'  I  he  name  or\'ietoria  with  t  he  desi  i  ii\'  of  India. 
Her  Majesty's  siicctissor  had  "  won  the  hearts  of  his 
Indian  subjects  l>y  his  cliafiniiif^'  personality  ";  mi^'lit 
Ills  reign  be  a  cont  iniiat  ion  of  his  i^'i-ea(.  mot  li(>r's.  'I'lie 
Speaker  Ihrn  alluded  to  the  pla^aie  ha \in;^'  eoiiie  I o 
Calcutta,  1)111  the  authorities  asked  them  to  take  it 
philo.sopliically,  instead  ol'  harrying-  them  with  the 
lads  ol  sei(!iu'e,  isolation,  s((<^i-ega,t  ion  und  inocula- 
tion, and  the  advic(!  "  I'aJls  in  with  (mr  hnuMMir". 
The  officials  vv((r(!  uncharitable  to  them,  and  that  kept 
away  titie-huntors,  Inii  most  of  the  nnMi  of  rank 
iuid*  wealth  siipjjorled  them.  Alh-r  announcing 
that  they  had  opened  mi  liidiislria,l  l']\  liiliit  ion  in 
coT)nH(;tion  with  the  Congress,  the  lirst,  lail,  he 
IiojkhJ,    ;i    periiiaii(!iit     realnre    in     IHtiire,    lif  ("i Hcd  on 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CONGRESS  335 

Mr.  \V.  C  J*>aiiuerji  to  propose  the  President.  He 
proposed  Mr.  J).  E.  VVacha,  "  the  life  and  soul  of  this 
movement,"  and  called  on  the  Congress  to  elect 
him  with  acclamation.  Rai  Bahadur  P.  Ananda 
(Jharlu  seconded,  Mr.  R.  N.  Mudholkar  supported  the 
liosohition,  and  it  was  carried  with  loud  applause. 

Mr.  Dinshaw  Etlulji  Wacha  began  his  address  with 
a  touching  and  heartfelt  tribute  to  Mr.  Justice  Kanade, 
who  had  suddenly  passed  away  on  Januai-y  17tli, 
19()l,  leaving  lK>liiti(l  liiin  :i  ii(»1)]e  and  s|)otless 
iiuuuory. 

He  then  spoke  gratefully  of  tlie  late  Queen-I<]iiipress, 
sadly  of  tilt!  assassination  of  I'l-esident  McKinley, 
and  grieved  over  the  death  of  Sir  Sheshadri,  the 
great  Dewan  of  Mysore,  who  proved  "that  states- 
nianshii)  is  not  a  monopoly  which  is  confined  to  one 
race  and  oiu^  country  alone  ".  The  President,  after 
an  allusion  to  the  new  King-Emperor,  who  on  his 
visit  to  ln(li;i.  had  won  the  hearts  of  Princes  and 
people,  turiHHl  to  the  subject  of  the  famine, 
reviewing  its  effect,  the  aid  given,  the  policy  of 
the  Bombay  Government,  the  way  in  which  funds 
were  spent,  and  ought  to  be  spent,  in  relief.  He 
pointed  out  that  the  peasants  who  were  relieved  in 
famine  time  were  the  very  same  people  who  paid  47} 
crores  a  year  in  taxation,  and  it  was  not  uuich  to  give 
them  back  some  of  it  in  the  time  of  the  periodical 
famines.  Tie  dealt  with  the  causes  of  famine,  and 
quoted  auth(u-ities,  including  Lord  Salisl»ury,  in  favoui- 
of  lightening  the  drain  on  the  cultivator.  There 
ought  to  be  full  eiujuiry  into  the  causes  of  the  present 


384  HOW   INDIA   WKOUOKT   VOK    fukkhom 

^[;^llaraja  Bahadur  fFayadiudvanath  Kai  Ualuuliir 
of  Xatovo,  the  Cliairmau  of  the  Recoptioii  Com- 
mittee, \\v\vou\od  tho  delegates  in  a  o-rnt'etul 
speech,  (paying-  that  \\e  had  only  venfunnl  to  ao('ei)t 
the  hoiunir  otVertnl  to  him  "  hecause  it  has  tteeu  the 
one  gve:\{  anthition  i)^  my  life  to  join  tht>  ranks  of 
those  wlio  think,  thosi>  who  fei>l,  ami  thost^  who  work 
for  tluMr  eoiintry  ".  lie  s[ioke  with  dei>])  fet^lino"  of 
the  Passing"  of  tlu>  (iriMt  Qiuhmi.  whoso  words  weri> 
the  Magna  Tarta  o^  India  :  "That  message  so  full  of 
sympathy  for  an  alien  subjei'l  rai-e,  so  noble  and 
liberal  in  its  spirit,  so  magnitieent  Iv  just  in  its  policy, 
wouhl  alom>  ha\t'  wim  tlu>  tMernal  gratitude  and 
untlinehing  loyalty  ^A'  \\or  Indian  snbji>ets."  'riu> 
National  C'ongress,  ihe  tMubodinuMit  (d'  I  ndia's  liopi>s 
and  aspirations,  Ixnai  in  her  rtugn.  wiudd  for  t>vi>r 
liid<  tht>  nanu^  id"  N'ii-toria  with  the  destiny  of  India. 
Her  iMajesty's  sueeessor  had  "won  the  lu\irts  of  his 
Indian  subjet'ts  by  his  cdiarniing  personaliiy  "  ;  might 
his  i-tMgn  ]^e  a  I'ontinuat  ion  of  his  gnvit  mot  her's.  The 
Speaker  then  alliuleil  to  the  plague  ha\ing  eonu>  to 
Caleutta,  ])ut  the  authorities  asked  them  tolaktM't 
})hilosophieally,  insttnul  of  Jiari-yiug  them  with  the 
lads  o\'  sri(MUH\  isolation,  st>gn>gation  and  inocula- 
tion, and  thi>  athice  "  fa.lls  in  with  oin-  hmuour  ". 
The  officials  wert>  uncharitable  to  tlicm,  and  that  kepi 
away  I  il  ic-hunl  crs.  but  nio'^l  o}i  I  lu>  uumi  o{'  rank 
amU  wcallh  Mipportetl  iIumu.  After  announcing 
that  they  had  opeiUMi  an  Industrial  I'lxliibit  ion  in 
coniu'cliou  with  the  Congrt^ss,  t  lu>  lirst,  but,  lu> 
hopeil,    a    pcruKiutMil     fcaiiire    in    future,    he  calli>d  on 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CONGRESS  335 

Mr.  \\^  C  Haimevji  to  propose  tlie  ['resident.  lie 
pn (posed  Mr.  D.  V].  Wiieha,  "  Mie  life  and  soul  of  this 
nidveiiu'iit ,"  :uid  called  on  the  Congress  to  elect 
liiiii  witli  aeelaniation.  Hai  Bahadur  1^.  Ananda 
Cliailii  seconded,  Mr.  11.  N.  Mudholkar  supported  the 
Kt>sohilion,  and  it  was  carried  with  loud  applause. 

Ml-,  hiiishaw  I'ldulji  W'acha  began  his  adtjress  wit  h 
;i  loiicliiiig  and  heart  I'elt  I  I'ibute  to  M  r.  Just  ice  |[a.nade, 
who  luul  suddenly  passcnl  away  on  -January  I7th, 
1901,  leaving"  behind  him  a  iu)ble  and  s})otless 
nieuiory. 

Ill'  tlu>n  spoke  gi-atefully  of  the  lale  QiUHMi-I'lnipress, 
sadly  of  the  assassiuai  ion  of  l'i-t>sident  McKinley, 
and  gi'icNcd  over  the  death  of  Sir  Sheshadri,  the 
great  Dcwaii  of  Mysore,  who  provi-d  "that  states- 
manship is  not  a  monopoly  which  is  conlined  to  one 
race  and  one  conntry  alone  ".  The  President,  aftei- 
an  allusion  to  the  new  I\ing-l"]niperor,  who  on  his 
visit  to  Imlia  Iiad  won  the  hearts  ol'  Princes  and 
pet)ple,  turned  to  (he  subject  of  the  famine, 
reviewing  its  elTect,  the  aid  givim,  thi'  policy  of 
the  Hombay  (io\erninenl ,  the  way  in  wliit'h  funds 
were  spent,  and  ought  to  bt>  sptMit,  in  i-elief.  He 
]K)inted  out  that  the  peasants  who  were  relieved  in 
famine  tinu'  wer(>  the  vei-y  same  pt^ople  who  paid  l^l 
crores  a  year  in  laxalion,  and  it  was  not  nuu-h  to  give 
them  back  some  ol'  ii  in  I  he  time  of  the  periodical 
faininivs.  lie  dealt  with  the  causes  of  famine,  and 
quoted  authiu-it  ies,  including  Lord  Salisbury,  in  favoui- 
of  lightening  th(>  drain  on  the  cultivator.  Thei'e 
ought  to  be  full  iMKpnry  into  the  causes  of  the  present 


336  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

agrarian  condition,  for  recent  legislation  was  dis- 
astrous. Irrigation  Works  were  essential,  and  they 
should  be  preferred  to  railways,  which  were  not  an 
"  unmixed  l)lessing  ".  Irrigation  increased  agricul- 
tural wealth,  while  railways  only  distributed  it.  Agri- 
cultural Banks  were  at  last  recognised  as  useful,  and 
here  he  advocated  the  system  adopted  in  Egypt.  The 
export  of  grain  prevented  a  sufficient  storage  in  the 
country.  Adverting  to  the  condition  of  the  masses, 
and  the  average  rate  of  agricultural  wealth  per  head 
of  the  population,  the  President  complained  that 
Government  shrank  from  publishing  details  which 
could  be  examined;  the  Duke  of  i^rgyll  had  said  that 
"  of  chronic  poverty  and  of  permanent  reduction  to  the 
lowest  level  of  subsistence,  such  as  prevail  only 
too  widely  among  the  vast  population  of  rural 
India,  Ave  have  no  example  in  the  western  world ". 
Improvement  was  impossible  "  so  long  as  absentee- 
ism, which  is  tlie  principal  feature  of  British  rule, 
exists";  the  annual  extraction  of  30  to  40  crores  f rom 
the  country  without  any  hope  of  return  was  the 
greatest  obstacle  to  Indian  prosperity. 

The  fact  is  India  is  not  free  to  choose  its  own 
administrative  at^ency.  Were  it  free,  is  there  the 
.slightest  doubt  that  the  entire  administrative  agency 
would  ha  indigenous,  living  and  spending  their  monies  in 
the  country  ?  India,  I  repeat,  is  not  free,  and,  therefore, 
it  has  no  choice  in  the  matter.  The  governing  authorities 
in  the  first  place  have  most  strangely  willed  that  almost 
all  the  higher  posts  shall  be  held  by  men  who  liv^e  a 
while  here,  and  then  retire  to  their  own  country.  Even 
another  great  modern  Asiatic  power,  Russia,  is  not  known 
to    import    wholesale    Russian    agency    to    carry   on    the 


THE    SEVENTEENTH    CONGRESS  337 

work  of  administration  in  the  distant  provinces  of  Central 
Asia!  But  we  are  told  that  the  European  agency 
is  extremely  limited.  It  counts  no  more  than  17,300 
persons.  True.  But  contrast  the  annual  expenditure  of 
16  crores  incurred  on  their  account  with  the  2|  crores 
earned  by  Indians.  Did  England  sit  quiet  while  the 
Plantagenets  were  filling  all  the  high  offices  from  France 
to  the  great  disadvantage  of  the  English  themselves  r' 
Was  not  England  pauperised  when  the  Papacy  was 
rampant  and  abstracted  millions  from  it  annually,  as 
history  has  recorded  ?  Would  England  refrain  from 
complaining,  supposing  that  the  position  of  India  and 
England  was  to-day  reversed  ? 

India  was  poor,  and  was  "  ruled  at  a  cost  unheard 
of  in  any  part  of  the  civilised  world  ". 

The  President  then  turned  to  finance  and  analysed, 
with  masterly  skill,  the  taxation  and  expenditure  of 
the  country,  in  which  Indians  had  no  voice.  There 
must  be  industrial  development,  although  improve- 
ment would  be  slow  since  the  root  of  poverty  lay  in 
political  causes.  "  '  Insane  Imperialism,'  to  use 
Mr,  Morley's  phrase,  with  its  mischievous  policy  of 
retrogression  and  repression  is  in  the  ascendant  for 
the  moment.  But  this  policy  of  political  insanity,  I  am 
firmly  of  conviction,  must  sooner  or  later  give  way  to 
the  former  policy  of  sound  liberalism,  modified  in 
conformity  with  the  march  of  time  and  the  irresist- 
ible logic  of  events.  .  .  .  Indians  have  never  been  slow 
to  recognise  the  benefits  of  British  rule.  But  it 
would  be  unreasonable  to  ask  tliem  to  sing  eternally 
its  praises  and  transform  themselves  into  its  un- 
qualified panegyrists.  No  doubt  we  have  a  good 
Government,  but  it  is  not  unmixed  with  many  an 
evil.      The   desire   is   that   the   evil  may    be  purged 


340  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

and  die  merely  like  a  brute  ?  Is  he  not  a  '  human 
being,  endowed  with  reason,  sentiment,  and  latent 
capacity  '  ?  "  The  peasant  had  sunk  to  a  lower  and 
a  lower  standard  of  living.     There  were 

nearly  200  millions  of  people  living-  a  life  of  clironic 
starvation  and  of  the  most  abject  ig'noranc'^(  grim  and 
silent  in  their  suifering,  without  zest  in  life,  without 
comfort  or  enjoyment,  without  hope  of  ambition,  living 
because  they  were  born  into  the  world,  and  dying  because 
life  could  no  longer  be  kept  in  the  bod}'. 

Mr.  B.  Pal  Choudhuri  supported,  dealing  with 
Agricultui-al  Banks,  and  Mr,  Guha  followed  in 
Bengali,    the   Resolution   being    then  put  and  carried. 

Dr.  Gour  proposed,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Srinivasa  Rao 
seconded,  Messrs.  Ambikacharan  Mozumdar  and 
Kali  Prasanna  Kavyabisarad  supported  the  hardy 
annual  of  the  separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive 
functions,  to  which  we  cannot  afford  more  space. 

Mr.  Kalicharan  Bannerji  moved  Resolution  Y, 
asking  that  eminent  Indian  lawyers  should  be  added 
to  the  Judicial  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council  for 
Indian  Appeals.  I'he  "  law  of  the  Courts  "  was  not 
always  in  accord  with  the  "  law  of  the  people,"  and 
long  establised  rules  were  set  aside.  Mr.  P.  S. 
Sivaswami  Iyer  seconded  it,  as  an  extension  of  the 
principle  already  applied  in  the  High  Courts.  The 
Resolution  was  carried. 

Mr.  Gandhi  moved  Resolution  VI,  on  South  Africa, 
as  "  a  petitioner  on  behalf  of  the  hundred  thousand 
liritisli  Indians  in  South  Africa".  He  told  the  now 
familiar  tale  of  Indian  grievances,  and  the  Resolution, 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CONGRESS  341 

seconded  by  Mr.  A.  Pillai,  was  carried,  and  the 
Congress  adjourned. 

On  the  third  day,  Mr.  S.  Sinlia  moved  the  seventh 
Resolution,  urging  various  matters  of  Police  Reform, 
and  he  dwelt  on  the  admittance  of  Indians  to  examin- 
ation for  the  Police  Service,  the  recruitment  of  In- 
spectors and  Sub-Inspectors,  and  asked  for  a  larger 
number  of  Indians  in  the  higher  grades.  Mr.  V.  R. 
Nambier  seconded,  laying  stress  on  the  need  for 
education  in  the  lower  grades,  and  the  employment  of 
Indians  who  understood  their  own  countrymen  in  the 
higher.  Five  other  speakers  supported,  and  the 
Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  YIII  returned  to  the  famine,  which 
brooded  over  all  hearts,  and  was  moved  b}'  Mr.  Gr. 
Subramania  Iyer.  He  dwelt  this  time  on  the  need 
for  industrial  independence,  and  pointed  to  the  rapid 
industrial  improvement  in  Japan  since  1868.  How 
could  Indta  adjust  her  industrial  condition  as  Japan 
has  adjusted  hers  to  new  needs  ?  India  must  either 
go  forwai-d  or  perish.  He  made  practical  suggestions 
for  founding  technical  institutions  and  foreign 
scholarships,  and  a  careful  survey  of  indigenous  in- 
dustries. 

Mr.  N.  M.  Samarth  seconded,  and  Mr.  N.  K. 
Ramaswami  Aiyar  supported,  giving  histories  of  past 
famines  and  analysing  the  causes  of  famine  ;  the  Reso- 
lution was  further  supported  by  Messrs.  Jadunath 
Majumdar  and  Joseph  Benjamin,  and  carried. 

Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  moved  Resolution  IX, 
demanding  the  wider  emplojmient  of  Indians  in  the 
27 


342  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Public    Services.     It   was    seconded    by    Mr.   Abdul 
KasiiTij  and  carried. 

Mr.  Dixit  moved  Resolution  X,  on  the  cost  of  British 
troops  in  India,  in  a  brief  speech,  and  Mr.  C.  Y. 
Ohintamani  seconded  with  equal  brevity.  The  resolu- 
tion was  supported  by  Mr.  Smedley  in  a  discursive  and 
breezy  speech,  which  he  concluded  by  saying  that  he 
believed  in  Home  Rule  for  Ireland  and  Home  Rule 
for  India.  He  appealed  to  the  young  men  to  be 
determined,  and  ask  for  Home  Rule  for  India. 

These  resolutions  seem  to  me  to  be  making  so  small  a 
demand,  that  they  will  be  glad  to  allow  you  these  little 
things  to  keep  you  off  from  Home  Rule.  My  last 
word  is  :  "  Go  in  for  Home  Rule  for  India,"  and  the 
blessing  of  God  rest  upon  jour  efforts. 

We  are  taking  Mr.  Smedley's  advice  in  1915. 

Dr.  Sarat  K.  Mnllick  moved  Resolution  XI, 
approving  of  the  formation  of  a  Cadet  Coi'ps  for 
Indian  Princes  as  a  step  to  the  establishment  of 
Military  Colleges.  Moulvi  M.  Ali  Chisti  seconded, 
Mr.  K.  B.  Varma  supported,  and  the  Resolnticni  was 
carried. 

Resolution  XII  dealt  with  Education,  and  was 
moved  by  Mr.  Y.  R.  Pandit,  who  condemned  the  small 
expenditure  on  Education  l)y  the  Government. 
Mr.  B.  G.  Tilak  seconded,  urging  that  Education 
should  be  made  thorough.  Mr.  A.  Choudhuri  and 
Mr.    Mahesvara    Prasad  seconded,  and  it  was  carried. 

The  thirteenth  Resolution  urged  the  raising  of 
coolies'  Avages  in  Assam  and  the  abolition  of  the 
penal   legislation   affecting   them.     It   was  moved  by 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CONGRESS  343 

Mr.  Jogendra  Chandra  Ghose,  who,  himself  an 
employer  of  coolie  labour,  protested  against  the  cruel 
treatment  of  the  Assam  coolies,  who  died  in  hundreds, 
while  in  three  years  he  had  only  lost  two  of  his 
labourers  in  the  Sunderbans,  one  from  cholera  and 
one  carried  off  by  a  tiger.  He  pleaded  for  justice, 
so  that  the  rule  of  England  might  last :  "  I  say  this 
out  of  my  great  love  for  you  Englishmen — lest  ye 
forget,  lest  ye  forget." 

Mr.  Bepin  Chandra  Pal  seconded,  urging  the  repeal 
of  the  Penal  Labour  Law,  and  combination  to  defend 
the  coolies.  Mr.  Lalit  Mohan  Clhosal  having 
supported,  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

The  medical  grievances  were  again  brought  up  in 
Resolution  XIV,  moved  by  Mr.  M.  N.  Bannerji, 
seconded  by  Dr.  Nilratan  Sarkar,  and  carried.  The 
fifteenth  Resolution  urged  the  needs  of  agriculture 
and  was  very  briefly  moved,  seconded,  and  sup- 
ported by  Messrs.  Yatindranath  Choudhuri,  Cama, 
N.  K.  RamasAvami  Aiyar,  Moulvi  Khoja  Muhammad 
Noor,  Dr.  Sureshvara  Mukerji,  and  carried. 

Resolutions  on  the  Economic  Question  in  India 
(No.  XVI),  on  Currency  Legislation  (No.  XVII),  Avere 
carried,  but  were  too  complex  to  be  effectively  dealt 
with  in  the  last  rush  of  the  Congress.  Resolution 
XVIII  asked  for  the  establishment  of  a  Mining 
College,  and  Resolution  XIX,  the  Omnibus,  was  put 
from  the  Chair.  Resolution  XX  re-appointed  Mr.  A,  0. 
Hume  and  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha,  and  Resolution  XXI 
accepted  the  invitation  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  P.  M.  Mehta 
to  the  Bombay  Presidency. 


344  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Then  came  the  votes  of  thanks  to  the  Reception 
Committee  and  the  President,  and  the  President's 
reply,  bringing  to  a  close  the  Seventeenth  National 
Congress. 

RESOLUTIONS 

The   Death   of  the   Queen-Smpress 

I.  Resolved — ('/)  That  this  Conj^ress  desires  to  express  its 
jjrofound  sorrow  at  the  death  of  Her  Majesty,  Queen-Empress 
Victoria,  and  its  sense  of  the  irrepai-able  loss  which  the  Empire  has 
sustained  thereby.  This  Congress  recalls  with  gratitude  Her  late 
Majesty's  deep  personal  sympathy  with  the  people  of  India,  as 
evidenced  by  her  gracious  Proclamation  and  by  various  other 
measures  and  personal  acts,  conceived  in  the  same  spirit  of  anxious 
solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  the  people  of  India. 

(b)  That  this  Congress  tenders  its  respectful  homage  to  His 
Gracious  Majesty  King  Edward  VII,  and  under  His  Majesty's  beiie- 
licent  reign  hopefully  looks  forward  to  the  strengthening  of  free 
institutions,  the  exj^ansion  of  popular  rights,  and  the  gradual  but 
complete  redemption  of  the  promises  contained  in  Her  late  Majestj''8 
Proclamation. 

(c)  That  this  Congress  desires  to  place  on  record  its  deep 
sense  of  regret  at  the  grea.t  loss  that  the  country  lias  sustained  by 
the  untimely  death  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Justice  Eanade. 

Work   of  tlie   Congress 

II.  Resolved — (a)  That  the  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  it  is 
essential  for  the  success  of  its  work,  that  there  should  be  a  Com- 
mittee in  Londoii,  acting  in  concert  with  it,  and  a  weekly  journal 
published  in  London,  ju'opagating  its  views,  and  this  Congress 
resolves  that  its  British  Committee  as  at  present  constituted,  and  the 
journal  India  as  published  by  it,  be  maintained  and  continued,  and 
the  cost  be  raised  in  accordance  v.'ith  the  following  scheme  : 

(h)  That  a  circulation  of  4,000  copies  of  India  be  secui-ed  by 
allocating  1,500  copies  to  Bengal,  700  coj^ies  to  Madras,  200  copies 
to  the  N.  W.  Provinces,  .50  copies  to  Oudh,  100  copies  to  the  Panjab, 
4.50  copies  to  Berar  and  the  Central  Provinces,  and  1,000  copies  to 
Bombay,  the  rate  of  yearly  subscrijition  being  Es.  K. 

(c)  That  the  following  gentlemen  be  appointed  Secretaries 
for  the  Cii-clos  against  which  their  names  appear,  and  be  held 
responsible  for  the  sums  due  for  the  copies  oi  India  assigned  to  their 
respective  Circles  ;  and  the  money  be  paid  in  advance  in  two  half- 
yearly  instalments. 


THE    SEVENTEENTH    CONGRESS  345 


Bengal  :  Berar  &  the  Central 

Provinces : 
Mr.  Siu'endraTiath  Bannerji. 
Mr.  Bhupendranath  Basu.  *f^-  ^-  ^-  Mudholkar. 


Mr.  Baiknnthanath  Sen. 


N.  W.  Provinces  and  Oudh 


Bombay  :  Pandit  M.  M.  Malaviya. 

HT     Ti   HI-    Tir  1  X  ^^^-  Gano-a  Prasad  Varina 

Hon.  Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale.  -^ 


Madras  : 

Hon.  Mr.  Srinivasa  Eao. 


C  awn  PORE  : 

Mr.  Pritliwinath  Pandit. 


Mr.  Vniara^havachan.  t>.^t.„ 

TV/T       ^r    o  \T        X.-  PANJAB: 

Mr.  V.  Kyru  Nambier. 

Mr.  G.  Subraniania  Iyer.  Lala  Harkishan  Lai. 

(d)  That  with  a  view  to  meet  the  balance  required  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  India  and  the  British  Committee  a  special  delegation 
fee  of  Rs.  10  be  paid  by  each  delegate  in  addition  to  the  usual  fee 
now  paid  by  him,  with  effect  from  1902. 

Poverty  and  Remedies  therefor 

III.  Resolved — (a)  That  the  Congress  once  again  desires  to 
call  the  attention  of  the  Government  to  the  deplorable  condition  of 
the  poorest  classes  in  India,  full  forty  millions  of  whom,  according 
to  high  official  authority,  drag  out  a  miserable  existence,  on  the 
verge  of  starvation  even  in  normal  years,  and  this  Congress  recom- 
mends the  following  amongst  other  measures  for  the  amelioration 
of  their  condition  — 

(2)  That  the  Permanent  Settlement  be  extended  to  those 
parts  of  the  counti-y  where  it  does  not  exist ;  that  restrictions  be 
put  on  over-assessments  in  those  parts  of  India  where  it  may  not 
be  advisable  to  extend  the  Permanent  Settlement  p.t  the  present 
time,  so  as  to  leave  the  ryots  sufficient  to  maintain  themselves 
oil,  and  that  these  Settlements  of  laud  revenue  be  guaranteed  for 
longer  periods  than  is  the  case  at  present. 

(3)  That  Agricultural  Banks  be  established  and  greater 
facilities  be  accorded  for  obtaining  loans  under  the  Agricultural 
Loans  Act. 

(4)  That  steps  be  taken  to  impi-ove  the  Agriculture  of  the 
country  and  in  connection  with  this,  this  Congi-ess  exhorts  all 
landed  proprietors  in  the  country  to  pay  gi-eater  attention  to  the 
agricultural  needs  of  the  country  and  adopt  such  measures  as  are 
iu  their  power  to  meet  them. 


346  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

(5)  That  the  minimum  income  assessable  under  the  Tncome- 
Tax  Act  be  raised  from  Rs.  500  to  Rs.  1,000. 

(6)  That  the  drain  of  the  wealth  of  the  country  be  stopped,  at 
least  in  part,  by  the  wider  employment  of  the  children  of  the  soil 
in  the  Public  Services. 

VIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  deploi-es  the  recurrence 
of  famine  in  a  more  or  less  acute  form  throughout  India  in  recent 
years,  and  records  its  deliberate  conviction  that  famines  in  India 
are  mainly  due  (1)  to  the  great  jioverty  of  the  people  brought  on 
by  the  decline  of  all  indigenous  arts  and  industries  and  the  drain 
of  the  wealth  of  the  country  which  has  gone  on  for  years  ;  and  (2) 
to  excessive  taxation  and  over- assessment  of  land,  consequent  on  a 
policy  of  extravagance  followed  by  the  Government  both  in  the 
civil  and  military  departments,  which  has  so  far  impoverished  the 
people  that  at  the  first  touch  of  scarcity  they  are  rendered  helpless 
and  must  perish  unless  fed  by  the  State  or  helped  by  private 
charity.  In  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  true  remedy  against 
the  recurrence  of  famine  lies  in  the  adoption  of  a  policy  which 
would  enforce  economy,  husband  the  resotirces  of  the  State,  improve 
the  agriculture  of  the  country,  foster  the  revival  and  develojiment 
of  indigenous  arts  and  manufactures,  and  help  forward  the  intro- 
duction of  new  industries. 

(b)  That  this  Congress  rejoices  that  a  "  Famine  Union  " 
has  been  formed  in  London  with  a  branch  in  Liverpool,  consisting 
of  distinguished  men  from  all  parties,  and  this  Congress  desires  to 
place  on  record  its  deep  gratitude  to  the  members  of  the  Union  for 
their  sympathy  with  the  famine-stricken  sufferers  in  India,  and  the 
earnest  and  eminently  practical  way  in  which  they  have  set  them- 
selves to  the  task. 

Legal 

IV.  Resolved — That  the  Congress  once  again  records  its 
deliberate  opinion  that  the  separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive 
functions  is  necessary  in  the  interests  of  righteous  and  efficient 
administration  of  justice  ;  the  Congress  is  supjjorted  in  this  opinion 
by  higli  and  distinguished  authorities,  intimately  familiar  with  the 
administration  of  criminal  justice  in  India,  such  as  Lord  Hobhouse, 
Sir  Richard  Garth,  Sir  William  Markby,  Sir  James  Jardine, 
Mr.  Reynolds  and  others.  This  Congress  undei-stands  that  the 
question  is  now  under  the  consideration  of  the  Government  of 
India  ;  and  having  regard  to  the  soundness  of  the  j)rinciple  involved, 
the  unanimity  of  public  sentiment  on  the  subject,  and  above  all  to 
the  numerous  instances  of  failure  of  justice  resulting  from  the 
coml)ination  of  Judicial  and  Executive  functions,  this  Congress 
appeals  to  the  Government  of  India  to  introduce  this  much-needed 
reform,  which  has  been  too  long  didayed  jjurtly  through  the  fear  of 
loss    of   prestige    and    the  weakening  of  the  executive  Government, 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CONGRESS  347 

but  chiefly  on  the  score  of  expense,  which  it  is  believed  will  not 
be  heavy  and  which  in  any  case  oujafht  not  to  be  an  insurmountable 
difliculty. 

V.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  stronglj  of  opinion  that 
the  Judicial  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council  should  be  strength- 
ened so  far  as  appeals  from  India  are  concerned  and  this  Congress 
respectfully  ventures  to  suggest  that  Indian  lawyers  of  eminence 
should  be  appointed  as  Lords  of  the  Judicial  Committee  to  partici- 
pate in  the  determination  of  apjaeals  from  India. 

South  Africa 

VI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  sympathises  with  the 
British  Indian  settlers  in  South  Africa  in  their  struggle  for  exis- 
tence, and  respectfully  draws  the  attention  of  His  Excellency  the 
Viceroy  to  the  Anti-Indian  legislation  there,  and  trusts  that  while 
the  question  of  the  status  of  British  Indians  in  the  Transvaal  and 
the  Orange  River  Colonies  is  still  under  tlie  consideration  of  the 
Rt.  Hon.  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  His  Excellency  will 
be  graciously  pleased  to  secure  for  the  settlers  a  just  and  equitable 
adjustment  thereof. 

Public  Service 

VII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  notices  with  satisfaction 
that  the  question  of  Police  Reform  is  now  under  the  considei-ation 
of  the  Government  and  that  it  is  one  of  the  twelve  questions  which 
His  Exellency  the  Viceroy  proposes  to  deal  with  during  the  term  of 
his  Viceroyalty.  The  Congress  repeats  its  conviction  that  no 
satisfactory  reform  could  be  effected  unless  the  Police  were  re-organ- 
ised on  the  following  lines  : 

(1)  That  the  higher  ranks  of  the  Police  should  be  recruited 
more  largely  than  at  present  from  among  educated  Natives  of  India  aa 
by  statute  defined,  who,  being  conversant  with  the  language  and 
habits,  thoughts,  and  life  of  their  subordinates,  would  be  in  a  posi- 
tion to  exercise  a  more  effective  control  over  their  subordinates 
than  is  exercised  at  present. 

(2)  That  the  pay  and  prospects  of  the  subordinate  ranks  of 
the  Police  should  be  substantially  improved  so  as  to  render  the 
Service  more  attractive  to  the  educated  community.  This  Congress 
is  of  opinion  that  the  wider  employment  of  educated  Indians  in  the 
subordinate  ranks  of  the  Police  upon  higher  pay  and  with  better 
prospects  can  alone  contribute  to  the  efficiency  and  integrity  of  the 
Police. 

(3)  That  the  competitive  examination  held  in  England  for  the 
recruitment  of  the  provincial  branches  of  the  Police  Service,  should 
be  thrown  open  to  natives  of  India,  instead  of  being  confined  to 
candidates  of  British  birth. 


348  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

IX.  Resolved—  That  the  Congress  once  again  records  its  deep 
regret  that  the  labours  of  the  Public  Service  Commission  have  not 
produced  the  results  which  were  anticipated,  and  this  Congress 
repeats  its  conviction  that  no  satisfactory  solution  of  the  question  is 
possible  unless  effect  is  given  to  the  Resolution  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons of  the  2nd  of  June,  1893,  in  favour  of  holding  the  examinations 
for  the  Indian  Civil  Service  simultaneously  in  England  and  India. 

That,  in  this  connection,  this  Congre-ss  desires  to  express  its 
profound  disappointment  at  the  policy  of  the  Government  in  respect 
of  the  wider  emijloyment  of  Natives  of  India  in  tlie  higher  offices  of 
the  Minor  Civil  Services,  such  as  the  Police,  the  Customs,  the 
Telegraph,  the  Forest,  the  Survey,  the  Opium,  as  involving  their 
practical  exclusion  from  these  offices,  and  as  being  opposed  to  the 
terms  of  the  Queen's  Proclamation  and  the  recommendations  of  the 
Public  Service  Commission ;  and  this  Congress  prays  that  the 
Government  will  be  jtleased  to  take  earlj'  steps  to  remedy  the 
injustice  done  to  the  claims  of  the  people  of  this  country. 

XIV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  in 
the  interests  of  the  public,  the  medical  service,  and  the  profession, 
as  well  as  in  the  cause  of  economical  administration,  it  is  necessary 
(I)  that  there  should  be  only  one  Jlilitary  Medical  Service  with 
two  branches — one  for  the  European  Army  and  the  other  for  the 
Native  Troops  worked  on  identical  lines;  and  (2)  that  the  Civil 
Medical  Service  of  the  country  should  be  reconstituted  as  a  distinct 
aud  independent  Medical  Service  wholly  detached  from  its  present 
military  connection  and  recruited  from  the  profession  of  medicine 
in  India  and  elsewhere,  due  regard  being  had  to  the  utilisation  of 
indigenous  talent. 

Tliat  this  Congress  further  affirms  tliat  the  status  and  claims 
of  Civil  Assistant  Surgeons  and  Hospital  Assistants  require  a 
thorough  and  open  enquirj-  with  a  view  to  redressing  long-standing 
anomalies  and  consefpicnt  grievances. 

Military 

X.  Resolvc'd — Tliat  inasmuch  as  large  bodies  of  Hritish  troops 
have,  with  perfect  safety  and  without  inqicrilling  the  peace  of  the 
country,  been  withdrawn  for  service  outsi(k>  the  statutoi-y  limits  of 
British  India,  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  Indian  tax-payer 
should  be  granted  some  i-clief  out  of  the  iiritish  Exchequer  towards 
the  cost  of  maintaining  in  Itidia  the  present  strength  of  the  European 
Army  : — the  claims  of  tinancial  justice  to  India  demand  the  trans- 
fer of  the  cost  of  a  pf)rtion  <A'  British  troo))s  from  the  Indian  to  tlio 
British  Exchequer. 

XI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  lo  exjtress  its  ajipre- 
ciation  of  tlie  action  of  the  Government  in  forming  a  Cadet  Corps 
consisting  of  the   representatives  of  Indian  Princes  and  Noblemen, 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CONGRESS  349 

and  regards  it  as  the  first  instalment  of  a  policy  which  will  culmi- 
nate in  the  establishment  of  Military  Colleges  (as  recommended  by 
the  Duke  of  Connaught)  at  which  Natives  of  India  may  be  educated 
and  trained  for  a  militarj'  career,  as  commissioned  and  non-commis- 
sioned officers  in  the  Indian  Army. 

Education 

XII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  notices  with  great  satis- 
faction that  the  subject  of  Education  in  all  its  divisions  is  receiving 
the  earnest  and  careful  attention  of  His  Excellency  the  Viceroy, 
and  this  Congress  trusts  that  in  constituting  the  proposed  Education 
Commission,  His  Excellency  will  be  pleased  to  give  adequate 
representation  to  Indian  interests  by  appointing  a  sufficient  number 
of  Indian  gentlemen  to  be  members  of  the  Commission. 

Assam  liabour 

XIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  while  thanking  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  for  its  benevolent  intentions,  regrets  that  immediate 
effect  has  not  been  given  to  the  proposal  made  by  the  Government  it- 
self to  enhance  the  coolies'  wages  in  Assam,  although  such  a  course 
was  strongly  insisted  upon  hy  the  Chief  Commissioner,  and  was  im- 
peratively demanded  by  the  plainest  considerations  of  justice  to  the 
coolies  :  and  this  Congi-ess  is  fiu-ther  of  opinion  that  the  time  has 
come  when  the  Government  should  redeem  its  pledge  to  do  away 
with  all  penal  legislation  for  labour  in  Assam. 

Agriculture 

XV.  Resolved — (a)  That  in  view  of  the  fact  that  it  is  agri- 
culture alone  that  enables  the  vast  masses  of  people  in  the  various 
provinces  of  India  to  maintain  themselves,  and  in  view  of  the 
excessive  cost  of  British  rule,  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
Government  should  be  pleased  to  bestow  its  first  and  undivided 
attention  upon  the  department  of  agriculture,  and  adopt  all  those 
measures  for  its  improvement  and  development  which  have  made 
America,  Russia,  Holland,  Belgium  and  several  other  countries  so 
successful  in  that  direction. 

(b)  That  this  Congress  begs  to  draw  the  special  attention 
of  the  Government  to  the  recommendations  of  Dr.  Voelsker,  who 
Mas  sent  out  to  India  in  1889  to  enquire  into  the  condition  of 
Indian  agriculture,  and  prays  that  early  effect  may  be  given  to  the 
same. 

(c)  That  this  Congress  further  prays  that  the  Government 
would  be  pleased  to  establish  a  large  number  of  experimental 
farms  all  over  the  country,  as  well  as  scholarships  to  enable 
Indian  students  to  proceed  to  foreign  countries  for  the  purpose  of 
learning  the  methods  of  improving  and  developing  agricultural 
resources  which  are  in  vogue  in  those  countries. 


350  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Committee  on  Industries 

XVI.  Rt'solved — («)  Tliat  the  following  gentleman  do  form  a 
Committee  to  report  to  the  Congress  next  year  whether  it  is 
desirable  to  adopt  the  following  resolutions  with  or  without 
amendments  and  alterations  : 

Mr.   B.  G.  Tilak.  Mr.  Ranade. 

Mr.   Madan  Mohan  Malaviya.  Mr.  Ganga  Prasad  Varnia. 

Mr.   Bhupendranath  Basu.  Mr.  Umar  Biiksh. 

Mr.  J   Choudhuri.  Mr.  Harkishan  Lai. 

Mr.  B.  Pathak. 

(b)  That  in  the  ouinion  of  this  Congress  much  of  the 
present  state  of  economic  depression  of  the  country  is  owing  to 
want  of  knowledge  of  the  methods  of  production  and  distribution 
which  prevail  in  foreign  countries,  and  that  it  behoves  our 
countrynien  to  ado]>t  means  to  bring  advanced  knowledge  and 
exact    information  within  the  reach  of  the  people. 

(c)  That  one  of  the  most  important  economic  questions 
that  require  solution  at  our  hands  is  the  organisation  of  Capital 
and  Credit  in  villages,  towns,  provinces,  and  the  country.  This 
Congress  invites  the  attention  of  its  countrymen  to  make  sustained 
and  extensive  eiTorts  to  organise  capital  and  remove  one  of  the 
many  difficulties  in  the  way  of  improvement  of  our  economic 
conditions. 

Finance 

XVII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  reatlirms  its  protest 
against  the  Currency  Legislation  of  1893,  in  whicli  was  artificially 
enhanced  the  value  of  the  rupee  by  over  30  per  cent,  which 
indirectly  enhances  all  taxation  to  that  extent,  and  which,  whilst 
giving  the  Government  large  surpluses  from  year  to  year  owing 
to  this  heavv-  indirect  taxation — and  that  too  in  times  of  unexampled 
distress  brought  about  by  famines —affects  most  detrimentally  the 
wealth-))r()dacing  institutions  of  the  country,  viz.,  agriculture, 
plantation,  and  manufacture.  That  it  is  further  of  opinion  that 
the  above-mentioned  legislation  has  alarmingly  diminished  the 
jjower  of  the  peasantry  to  withstand  the  attacks  of  natural  calamities, 
and  that  the  most  deplorable  c(msc(iuenccs  may  be  anticipated  to 
follow  from  it  in  coiir.sc  of  time. 

Mining  Industry 

XVI II.  Resolved  —  That  this  Congress  notices  with  satisfac- 
tion the  rapid  progress  of  the  mining  industry  of  India,  and  in 
consider;ition  of  the  fact  that  the  mineral  resources  of  this  coun- 
try are  vast  and  the  facilities  for  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  mining  engineering  in   this   country  are  almost  nothing,  and  in 


THE  SEVENTEENTH  CONGRESS  351 

view  of  the  fact  that  the  tendency  of  recent  legislation  on  raining, 
namely  Act  VII  of  1901,  is,  that  all  Indian  mines  must  be  kept 
undei-  the  supervision  of  mining  exjjerts,  this  C(mgress  is  of  opinion 
that  a  Government  College  of  Mining  Engineering  be  established 
in  some  suitable  place  in  India  after  the  model  of  the  Royal  School 
of  Mines  of  England,  and  the  Mining  Colleges  of  Japan  and  the 
Continent. 

XIX.     Resolved— (I)   That    this   Congress  concurs  with  previ- 
ous Congi'esses  in  strongly  advocating — 

(a)  The  raising  of  the  minimum  income  assessable  under 
the  Income-Tax  from  Rs.  500  to  Rs.  1,000.   [1900  (a)  to  (d)  ]. 

(II)  That  this  Congress,   concurring  with  previous  Congresses, 
records  its  protest — [1900,  (a)  and  (h)  ]. 

(III)  That  this  Congress,  concurring  with  previous  Congresses 
expresses  its  opinion — 

(a)  That  the  system  of  Technical  Education  now  in  vogue 
is  inadequate  and  unsatisfactory,  and  prays,  that  having  regard 
to  the  poverty  of  the  people,  the  decline  of  indigenous  industries 
and  the  necessity  of  reviving  them,  as  also  of  introducing  new 
industries,  the  Government  will  be  pleased  to  introduce  a  more 
elaborate  and  efficient  scheme  of  technical  instruction  and  set 
apart  more  funds  for  its  successful  working.      [1900,  (a)  and  (b)  ]. 

((/)  That  the  action  of  the  Forest  Department  under  the 
rules  framed  by  the  different  Provincial  Governments  prejudiciallj-^ 
affects  the  inhabitants  of  the  rural  parts  of  the  country  by  subject- 
ing them  to  the  annoyance  and  oppression  of  Forest  subordinates 
in  various  ways :  and  that  it  is  necessary  that  these  rules  should 
be  amended  so  as  to  remedy  the  grievances  of  the  people  in  the 
matter. 

Formal 

XX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  re-appoints  Mi  A.O.  Hume, 
C.B.,  to  be  General  Secretary,  and  Mr  D.  E.  Wacha  to  be  Joint- 
General  Secretary,  for  the  ensuing  year- 

XXI.  Resolved — That  the  Eighteenth  Indian  National  Congress 
do  assemble  after  Christmas,  1902,  on  such  day  and  place  in  the 
Bombay  Presidency  as  may  be  later    determined  u]ioti. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

The  National  Congress,  meeting  at  Ahvnedabad,  in 
the  Bombay  Presidency,  on  December  23rd,  24th  and 
26th,  1902,  began  its  work  on  an  earlier  date  than 
ever  before,  in  conseqnence  of  the  Coronation  Darbar 
of  the  King-Emperor,  Edward  V^l,  held  on  January 
1st,  1908,  in  the  Imperial  City  of  Delhi.  For  the 
second  time  an  Industrial  Conference  was  held  in 
connection  witli  the  Congress,  and  it  was  opened  on 
December  loth  by  H.  H.  the  Gaekwar  of  Baroda, 
always  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  India.  There  were 
471  delegates  present,  of  whom  no  less  than  287 
came  from  the  Ahmedabad  C'ircle.  They  were  dis- 
tributed as  follows  : 

Bombay  and  Sindh  ...          ...          ...          ...  418 

Madras             12 

Berar,  C.    P.  and  Hyderabad                         ...  16 
United  Provinces  ol'  Agra  and  Oudh  (  former- 
ly N.  W.  P.  and  Oudh)             ...           ...  5 

Bengal            ...          ...          ...          ...          ...  20 

Panjal)             0 


471 


The   Chairman  of  the  Hi^ception  Committee,  Dewan 
Bahadur     Aml)alal    Desai,    welcomed    the    Congress 


THE    EIGHTEENTH    CONGRESS  853 

to  the  capital  of  Guzerat ;  Guzerat  was  an  industrial 
and  commercial  region,  and  the  two  terrible  fainines 
through  which  it  had  just  passed  had  aroused 
it  to  seek  the  reason  of  such  horrors ;  nearly  25 
lakhs  of  people  had  died  out  of  a  population  of 
less  than  a  crore.  They  saw  one  reason  in  the  huge 
amount  of  wealth  drained  out  of  the  country.  Many 
of  their  people  emigrated,  and  they  found  that  their 
inferior  political  position  hampered  their  trade,  and 
that  it  was  therefore  necessary  to  agitate  politically. 
Tliey  had  many  cotton  mills,  forced  to  pay  the  unjust 
excise  duty,  and  they  felt  that  commercial  pursuits 
without  political  action  were  suicidal.  Agricultural- 
ists suffered  under  inelastic  revenue  conditions,  and 
all  asked  :  "  Why  are  we  so  poor  ?  "  Hence  Guzerat 
turned  to  the  Congress. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  P.  M.  Mehta  proposed,  the  Hon. 
Mr.  S.  Nair  seconded,  and  IMr.  S.N.  Pandit  supported 
the  election  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji, 
and  he  took  the  Chair  amid  immense  applause. 

After  alluding  to  the  Congresses  previously  held  in 
the  Bombay  Presidency,  Mr.  Bannerji  alluded  to  the 
Coronation  Darbar  to  be  held  at  Delhi,  and  remarked 
that  the  1858  Darbar  at  Allahabad,  that  of  1877  at 
Delhi,  that  of  1887  at  Calcutta,  had  been  marked  by 
declarations  of  wider  liberty  to  Indians;  surely  the 
Darbar  of  Delhi  in  1893  would  grant  some  substantial 
concession  to  the  people. 

The  question,  however,  which  concerned  them  most 
was  the  Report  of  the  Universities  Commission,  which 
had  aroused  "  alarm,  deep,  genuine,  and  all-pervading, 
28 


354  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

felt  by  all  sections  of  the  educated  community 
throughout  India,  by  Hindus  and  Musalmans  alike  ". 
"  The  noblest  gift  which  British  rule  has  conferred 
upon  India  is  the  boon  of  high  education.  It  lies  at 
the  root  of  all  our  progress."  The  President  then 
analysed  the  Eeport,  pointing  out  its  deficiencies,  and 
condemned  the  new  policy  towards  the  Universities ; 
he,  however,  put  much  trust  in  the  Viceroy,  who 
would,  he  hoped,  remedy  the  points  protested  against 
b}'  the  Indian  community.  He  then  turned  to  the 
economic  problem,  and  asked  whether  it  was  true,  as 
Mr.  Digby  asserted,  "  that  India  has  undergone  steady 
material  retrogression  under  British  rule,"  and 
declared  that  behind  the  economic  policy  lay  the 
entire  problem  of  Indian  administration.  A  Com- 
mission of  Enquiry  should  be  issued  to  settle  the 
question  :  "  Is  the  country  getting  poorer  day  by 
day  ?^'  An  enquiry  had  been  held  in  1880-81,  under 
Lord  Ripon,  and  a  second  during  the  Viceroyalty  of 
Lord  Duiferin,  but  the  results  of  those  enquiries 
were  withheld  from  publication  : 


Now  these  enquiries  either  prove  or  dispi'ove  the 
alle<;ation  that  the  country  is  becoming  poorer  under 
British  rule.  If  they  disprove  the  alleg-ation,  nothing 
would  be  more  natural  than  that  the  rulers  of  India 
should  hasten,  by  their  publication,  to  refute  a  charge 
Avliich  involves  so  serious  a  reflexion  upon  their  own 
administration.  If  these  enquiries  do  not  disprove  the 
charge,  nothing  would  be  more  natural  than  that  they 
should  keep  back  the  evidence  of  which  they  are  in 
possession.  To  Avithhold  from  the  public  the  results  of 
these  enquiries  and  the  evidence  on  which  they  are  based, 
raises    a   presumption    against    the    roseate    view   of    the 


THE    EIGHTEENTH    CONGRESS  355 

economic  situation.  The  presumption  is  strengthened  by 
the  steady  refusal  to  hold  an  open  enquiry,  and  it  assumes 
more  or  less  the  complexion  of  definite  proof,  in  view  of 
facts  the   significance    of  which  cannot  be  ovei'looked. 

The  President  then  dealt  with  the  tei'rible  re- 
currence of  famines,  growing  worse  as  time  went  on. 
If  such  famines  happened  in  Europe,  what  would  be 
said  ?  "  But  India  is  beyond  the  pale  of  civilised 
opinion,  and  her  calamities  do  not  apparently  stir 
the  conscience  of  even  the  great  Nation  into  whose 
hands  her  destinies  have  been  consigned,  by  an  all- 
wise  Providence."  "  Destitution  is  the  root-cause 
of  Indian  famines."  The  people,  if  they  were  nor- 
mally prosperous,  could  buy  food  when  crops 
failed  : 

But  they  are  absolutely  resourceless,  sunk  in  the 
deepest  depths  of  poverty,  living  from  hand  to  mouth, 
often  starving  upon  one  meal  a  day,  and  they  die  in  their 
thousands  and  hundreds  of  thousands  upon  the  first  stress 
of  scarcity,  and  as  the  situation  deepens  they  die  in  their 
millions  and  tens  of  millions,  despite  the  efforts  of  a 
benevolent  Governmient  to  save  them. 

The  President  urged  that  the  Government  should 
seek  to  check  the  growing  destitution  by  : 

(1)  The  revival  of  our  old  industries  and  the  creation 
of  new  ones  ;  (2)  the  moderate  assessment  of  the  land- 
tax  ;  (3)  the  remission  of  taxes  which  press  heavily  upon 
the  poor  ;  (4)  the  stoppage  of  the  drain,  and  the  adoption 
of  the  necessary  administrative   measures    in  that  behalf. 

The  President  then  considered  Industries,  Land- 
Revenue  Assessment,  Remission  of  Taxation,  the 
Drain,  and   other   subjects,    and   urged    that    if    the 


356  HOW    INDIA    WKOrGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

people  had  a  voice  in  the  expenditure,  economy  would 
result.     He  said  in  conclusion  : 

The  triumphs  of  liberty  are  not  won  in  a  day. 
Tjibertv  is  a  jealous  Goddess,  exacting  in  her  worship  and 
claiming  from  her  votaries  prohmged  and  assiduous  de- 
votion. Read  history.  Learn  from  it  the  inestimable 
lesson  of  patienre  and  fortitude  and  the  self-sacrificing 
devotion  which  a  constitutional  struggle  for  constitutional 
liberty  involves.  Need  I  impress  these  lessons  upon  a 
people  Avho  have  presented  to  the  world  the  noblest  of 
these  virtues  ?  Every  page  of  Indian  history  is  resplen- 
dent with  the  touch  of  self-abnegation The  re- 
sponsibilities of  the  present,  the  hopes  of  the  future,  the 
glories  of  the  past  ought  all  to  inspire  us  with  the  noblest 
enthusiasm  to  serve  our  country.  Is  there  a  land  more 
worthy  of  service  and  sacrifice  ?  Where  is  a  land  more 
interesting,  more  venerated  -in  antiquity,  more  rich  in 
historic  traditions,  in  the  wealth  of  religious,  ethical  and 
spiritual  conceptions,  which  have  left  an  enduring  impress 
on  the  civilisation  of  mankind  ?  India  is  the  cradle  of  two 
religions.  It  is  the  Holy  Land  of  the  East.  Here  know- 
ledge first  lit  her  torch.  Here,  in  the  morning  of  the 
world,  the  Vaidic  Rishis  sang  those  hymns  which  re- 
present the  first  yearnings  of  infant  humanity  towards 
the  divine  ideal.  Here  was  developed  a  literature  and 
language  which  still  excite  the  admiration  of  mankind 
— a  philosophy  which  pondered  deep  over  the  pr()l)lems 
of  life  and  evolved  solutions  which  satisfied  the  highest 
yearnings  of  the  loftiest  minds.  Here,  man  first  essayed 
to  solve  the  mystery  of  life,  and  tlic  solution,  wrapped  in 
the  rich  colours  of  the  poetic  imagination  and  clotlied 
with  the  deeper  significnnce  of  a  higher  spiritual  idea, 
l)ids  fair,  thanks  to  the  genius  of  the  greatest  Hindu 
scientist  of  the  age,  to  be  accepted  by  the  world  of 
science.  From  our  shores  went  forth  those  missionaries 
who,  fired  with  apostolic  fervour,  traversed  the  wilds  of 
Asia  and  established  the  ascendency  of  that  faith  wliich 
is  the  law  and  the  religion  of  the  Nations  of  the  far  East. 
Japan  is  our  spiritual  pupil.  China  and  Siberia  and  the 
islands    of  the    Eastern  Archipelago  turn    with    reverend 


THE    EIGHTEENTH    CONGRESS  357 

eyes  to  the  land  where  was  born  the  Prophet  of  their 
faith.  Our  pupils  have  out-distanced  us  ;  and  here 
are  we,  hesitating-,  doubting,  calculating,  casting 
up  moral  results  to  satisfy  ourselves  that  our  gains 
have  been  commensurate  to  our  sacrifices.  Such 
indeed  has  not  been  tlie  royal  road  to  political  en- 
franchisement. The  triumphs  of  liberty  have  not  thus 
been  won.  Japan  is  an  object-lesson  whicli  tlirusts  itself 
upon  the  view.  Read  her  history  ;  note  her  wonderful  self- 
sacrifice,  her  marvellous  power  of  adaptation,  her  patience, 
her  fortitude,  her  indomitable  energy  and  persistency, 
and  let  the  most  ancient  of  Eastern  nations  derive  inspira- 
tion and  guidance  from  the  youngest,  which  has  solved 
the  riddle  of  Asiatic  life  and  has  harmonised  the 
conservatism  of   tlie    Bast   with    the  progressive  forces  of 

the   West Despotic   rule   represents  a  stage  of 

transition,  the  period  of  which  should  not  be  unneces- 
sarily prolonged.  But  transition  must  give  place  to 
permanence.  All  signs  point  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
period  of  reconstruction  has  now  arrived.  The  forces  are 
there  ;  the  materials  are  there ;  they  lie  in  shapeless 
mas.ses.  Where  is  the  man  of  genius  who  will  com- 
municate to  them  the  vital  spark  and  transform  them 
into  a  new  and  a  higher  and  a  grander  organisation, 
suited  to  our  present  requirements  and  fraiight  with  the 
hopes  of  a  higher  life  for  us  and  a  noisier  era  for  Britisli 
rule  in  India  ?  The  statesmanship  of  Mr.  Chamberlain, 
bent  upon  the  work  of  reconstruction  and  consolidation  in 
South  Africa,  Avill  pale  before  the  splendour  of  this 
crowning  achievement.  We  plead  for  the  permanence 
of  British  rule  in  India.  We  plead  for  the  gradual 
reconstruction  of  that  ancient  and  venerated  system 
Avhich  has  given  to  India  law  and  order  and  the 
elements  of  stable  peace.  We  plead  for  justice  and  liberty, 
for  equal  rights  and  enlarged  privileges,  for  our 
participation  in  the  citizenship  of  the  Empire  ;  and  I  am 
sure  we  do  not  plead  in  vain  ;  for  the  Empire,  thus 
reconstituted  and  reorganised,  will  be  stronger,  nobler, 
richer  far  in  the  love,  the  gratitude,  the  enthu.iiastic 
devotion    of    a    happy    and   contented  people,  rejoicing  in 


358  HOW   INDIA   WROUGHT   FOR   FREEDOM 

their  indissoluble  union  with  England,  and  glorying  in  the 
rich  promises  of  steady  and  uninterrupted  progress 
towards  their  high  destinies,  under  the  protection  and 
guidance  of  that  great  people,  to  whom  in  the  counsels  of 
Providence  has  been  assigned  the  high  roission  and  the 
consecrated  task  of  disseminating  among  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  the  great,  the  priceless,  the  inestimable  blessing 
of  constitutional  liberty. 

When  tlie  cheers  evoked  by  the  eloquent  speaker 
had  subsided,  the  Subjects'  Committee  was  approved, 
and  the  Congress  adjovinied. 

On  the  second  da}",  Resolution  I,  offering  homage 
to  the  new  King-Emperor,  and  Resolution  II  ex- 
pressing sorrow  for  the  passing  away  of  Mr.  R.  M. 
Sayani  and  Mr.  Ranga  Naidu,  were  put  from  the 
Chair  and  carried. 

Mr.  G.  Subramania  I^^er  moved  Resolution  III, 
drawing  attention  to  the  poverty  of  the  people,  and 
suggesting  remedies.  He  pointed  out  that  there  had 
been  a  time  when  the  population  of  India  was  so 
flourishing  that  foreign  visitors  envied  it,  and  when 
arts  and  industries  flourished.  The  East  India  Com- 
pany had  deliberately  sacrificed  India  to  the  com- 
mercial advantage  of  England,  had  discouraged  in- 
dustries and  encouraged  agriculture,  so  that  India 
might  produce  raw  materials  for  the  manufacturing 
industries  of  England  ;  that  policy  had  destroyed 
Indian  industries,  and  (lovernment,  which  had  in- 
herited it,  should  reverse  it.  Wliat  is  being  done  ? 
The  gold  mines  of  Kolar  are  worked  by  European 
capital.  They  yield  20  crores  of  rupees  worth  of  gold 
annually,   which  is  taken  to  another  country.     When 


THE    EIGHTEENTH    CONGRESS  859 

in  another  20  or  30  yeai's  all  the  gold  is  dug  up  and 
carried  away,  what  will  remain  to  the  people  of  Mysore 
but  stones  ?  Government  ought  to  protect  Indian 
wealth,  not  allow  it  to  be  carried  away.  The  splendid 
gift  of  Mr.  Tata  for  scientific  research  and  training 
had  not  been  utilised.  Further,  the  capital  existing 
in  the  country  in  small  amounts  should  be  gathered 
into  banks  and  used  for  industrial  and  agricultural 
purposes. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Perraju  seconded,  and  dealt  with 
revenue  assessment,  the  ever  fruitful  source  of 
poverty.  Mr.  M.  K.  Patel  laid  stress  on  the  money- 
famine  in  India,  and  contrasted  the  beginning  of  the 
18th  century,  when  India  exported  to  England  more 
than  a  million  and  a  half  sterling  worth  of  piece 
goods,  and  the  end  of  the  nineteenth,  when  she 
imported  28  millions  worth  of  manufactured  cotton. 
It  is  this  destruction  of  her  manufactures  which  has 
impoverished  India.  "  The  Indian  Railway's  and 
Free  Trade  have  between  them  ruined  our  artisan 
classes."  The  Hon.  Mr.  Goculdas  K.  Parekh  also 
supported,  showing  how  the  heavy  assessments  threw 
land  out  of  cultivation.     The  Resolution  was   carried. 

The  fourth  Resolution  thanked  the  Famine  Union 
in  England  for  its  effort  to  secure  an  enquiry  into 
the  economic  condition  of  typical  villages,  and  en- 
dorsed its  request.  It  was  moved  by  Mr.  G.  Raghava 
Iyer,  and  he  showed  the  need  for  enquiry,  in  order 
that  an  accurate  judgment  might  be  formed  on  reliable 
facts  and  figures.  He  also  supported  the  publication 
of  previous  enquiries.     Mr.  Peter  Paul  Pillai  seconded, 


360  now    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

pointing  to  tlie  frequency  of  famines  in  India. 
Mr.  V.  R.  Natu  and  Mr.  Bhaishankar  Nanabhai 
supported,  and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  V  appealed  to  Government  to  secure 
better  treatment  for  the  Indian  settlers  in  South 
Africa,  and  Mr.  I).  P.  Thakore  gave  a  graphic  picture 
fi'om  his  own  experience  of  the  constant  and  intoler- 
al)le  insults  to  which  all  Indians  were  subjected  : 
"  the  Indian  is  hated  and  insulted  both  in  public  and 
private  life ".  Mr.  Krishna  Iyer  seconded,  and 
three  Muhammadan  residents  in  South  Africa, 
Messrs.  (xhulam  Hasan  Muakhan,  Haji  Suleiman  and 
Haji  Sumar,  having  supported,  the  Resolution  was 
carried. 

The  sixth  Resolution  protested  against  the  Currency 
Legislation  of  1893,  and  was  moved  by  Mr.  Vithaldas 
Damodardas  Thakarsey,  seconded  by  Mr.  G.  Subra- 
mania  Iyer,  and  supported  by  Mr.  Sorabji  Karaka, 
who  said  it  had  literally  killed  the  mill-industry;  it 
carried. 

Mr.  N.  M.  Samarth  moved  Resolution  YI,  con- 
demning the  new  burden  imposed  on  India  by 
increasing  the  pay  of  the  British  soldier,  and  the 
suggestion  of  an  increase  in  the  British  troops 
quartered  in  India;  the  Resolution  was  second- 
ed by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Srinivasa  Rao,  supported  by 
Mr.  Baikunthanath  Sen  and  carried.  Whereon  the 
Congress  adjoui-ned. 

On  meeting  for  the  third  day,  the  Congress  found 
itself  face  to  face  with  sixteen  Resolutions,  and  the 
annual     race     began.       Mr.     J.     Choudhuri      moved 


THE  EIGHTEENTH  CONGRESS  361 

Resolution  VIII,  thanking  the  Government  of  India 
for  its  circular  letter  staying  action  on  some  of  the 
proposals  of  the  Universities  Commission,  and  raising 
special  objections  to  the  most  reactionary  of  the 
proposals  made.  He  pointed  out  that  education  was 
regarded  in  quite  a  wrong  spirit,  and  protested  against 
the  obstacles  placed  in  the  way  of  poor  students. 
Mr.  D.  Ct.  Padhya  remai'ked  that  the  Universities 
Commission  had  been  composed  of  Grovernment  re- 
presentatives more  largely  than  any  other,  and  the 
whole  scheme  aimed  at  the  narrowing  of  the  sphere  of 
education  in  India,  and  the  curtailment  of  the  rights  of 
the  Fellows  and  Faculties  had  for  object  the  gaining 
of  an  official  majority  in  the  Senate  and  Syndicate. 
Mr.  N.  B.  Ranade  drew  attention  to  the  injury  propos- 
ed to  be  done  to  the  teaching  of  History,  Political 
Economy  and  Science,  subjects  vitally  necessary  for 
Indians.  Mr.  G.  M.  Tripathi  condemned  the  inter- 
ference of  the  State  in  education,  forcing  on  men 
who  should  be  gurus,  giving  freely  of  their  know- 
ledge, the  banya  system  of  so  much  education  for  so 
much  coin.  The  poor  boys  here  were  more  eager 
for  learning  than  the  rich.  The  Resolution  was 
carried. 

Mr.  G.  Subramania  Iyer  proposed  Resolution  IX, 
asking  the  Government  to  support  Mr.  Tata's  Re- 
search Institute,  and  recommending  the  establish- 
ment of  similar  institutions  in  different  parts  of  the 
country.  It  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Krishna  Nair, 
supported  by  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya,  and 
carried. 


362  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

In  Resolution  X,  the  inadequacy  of  the  representa- 
tion of  experienced  Indians  on  the  Police  Commission 
was  regretted,  Mr.  S.  Sinha  pointing-  out  that  there 
were  only  two  Indians  outside  officials,  and  of  these 
one  was  a  C.  I.  E.  always  seeking  to  please  English- 
men, and  the  other  a  Maharaja  as  yet  untried. 
Unless  the  grievances  of  the  people  touching  the 
Police  were  placed  before  the  Commission,  there 
would  be  no  reforms.  Mr.  Krishnamachari  seconded, 
Messrs.  N.  N.  Mitra,  M.  K.  Padhya,  S.  B.  Bhagvat 
supported,  and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  XI  was  on  the  separation  of  the 
Judicial  and  Executive  Functions,  patiently  moved 
by  Dewan  Bahadur  Amhalal  Sakerlal,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Ambikacharan  Mozumdar — who  said  they  could 
not  afford  to  be  tired  of  discussing  it  as  long  as  the 
administration  tired  them  by  practising  it — supported 
by  Mr.  Rustam  K.  R.  Cama  and  Pandit  K.  P. 
Kavyabisharad,  and  carried. 

Resolution  XII  passed  a  well-merited  condemna- 
tion on  the  system  of  appointing  to  District  Judge- 
ships Covenanted  Civilians  with  little  knowledge  of 
law.  Mr.  Jogendranath  Mukerji  moved  it,  giving 
instances  of  judicial  ignorance.  Mr.  A,  M.  Advani, 
in  seconding,  added  to  these,  and  Mr.  Hardeoram 
Nanabhai  Haridas  complained  that  logic  and  facts 
were  useless  before  the  Assistant  Civilian  Judge  ;  they 
had  to  rely  on  adjectives.      'J'lie  Resolution  was  passed. 

Once  more  the  reduction  of  the  Salt  Tax,  that  most 
iniquitous  burden  on  the  poor,  came  up  as  Resolution 
XIII,  and  was   moved  by  Mr.  C.  Y.  Chintamani  in   a 


THE    EIGHTEENTH    CONGRESS  363 

terse  and  forcible  speech,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  J.  V. 
Desai,  who  remarked  that,  in  Gruzerat,  salt  cost 
Re.  0-1-3  per  maund,  and  the  dnty  on  that  quantity 
was  Rs.  2-8-0.  The  Resolution  was  carried.  It  is 
astounding  that  these  things  should  be  pointed  out 
so  constantly,  and  no  redress  should  l)e  gained.  In  a 
Self-Governed  country  such  grievances  would  he 
removed. 

Once  more  the  Congress,  in  Resolution  XI Y, 
voiced  the  grievances  of  Indians  in  the  Public 
Services.  Mr.  G.  K.  Setna  moved,  Mr.  Abdul  Kasirn 
seconded,  and  it  was  carried. 

Railways  were  the  next  example  of  the  exclusion 
of  Indians  in  the  higher  branches  of  the  Service,  and 
Mr.  Govindrao  Apaji  Patil  moved  Resolution  XV, 
remarking  that  there  would  be  less  loss  on  the 
railways  were  it  not  for  the  high  cost  of  Europeans, 
and  caustically  remarking  that  Indians  might  become 
Assistant  Collectors  and  Collectors,  but  not  Traffic 
Inspectors.  Mr.  S.  M.  Patel  seconded,  and  Mr.  M.  K. 
Patel  having  supported  it,  the  Resolution  passed. 

Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  brought  up  the  standing  grievance 
of  the  Excise  Duty  on  Indian-produced  cloth  in 
Resolution  XVI,  saying  that  he  would  refer  the 
Congress  to  his  previous  speeches  on  tlie  subject. 
Seth  Mangaldas  Girdhardas  seconded,  and  the 
Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  XVII,  on  the  Medical  Services,  asking 
for  the  reforms  previously  demanded,  was  moved  by 
Dr.  A.  Erulker  Salomon.  Dr.  Joseph  Benjamin 
seconded,  and  it  was  carried. 


364  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Mr.  N.  C.  Kelkar  moved  the  eighteenth  Resolution, 
urging  Government  to  throw  open  the  higher  grades 
of  the  Army  to  Indians  and  to  establish  Military 
Colleges.  These  requests  had  long  been  lurking  in 
the  seclusion  of  the  Omnibus,  but  now  came  out  once 
more  on  their  own  feet,  were  seconded  by  Dr.  Joseph 
Benjamin,  and  carried. 

'J'he  President  then  drove  in  the  Omnibus  (No.  XIX), 
and  Resolution  XX  on  the  British  Committee  and 
India,  and  both  were  carried.  Thanks  were  offered  to 
Sir  William  Wedderburn  and  the  British  Committee 
in  Resolution  XXI,  and  the  reappointment  of  Messrs. 
A.  0.  Hume  and  D.  E.  Wacha  as  Secretaries  was  put 
from  the  Chair  as  Resolution  XXII.  He  also  put 
Resolution  XXIII,  fixing  the  Nineteenth  Congress  at 
Madras. 

A  vote  of  thanks  was  moved  to  the  President,  who 
acknowledged  it  in  a  felicitous  and  eloquent  speech, 
specially  appealing  to  the  younger  generation  to  take 
up  the  work  of  the  Congress,  and  so  bring  about  the 
realisation  of  the  Nation's  hopes. 

With  his  inspiring  words  ringing  in  their  hearts, 
tlie  Eighteenth  National  Congress  dissolved. 

RESOLUTIONS 

Homage  to  the  Crown 

T.  Resolved  -That  tlie  Coiip^resK  Ix^gs  to  tender  its  respectful 
homaj^e  to  His  Most  (Iracious  Majesty,  King-Eiiiperor  Edward  VII, 
on  the  occasion  of  the  approaching  Coronation  Dai'bar  to  be  held 
at  Delhi  on  1st  January,  19U3,  and  humbly  trusts  that  His  Majesty's 
reign  will  be  an  era  of  peace,  prosperity  and  contentment  through- 
out the  Empire  and  will  be  marked  by  the  gradual  but  complete 
redemption  of  the  pledges  contained  in  Her  late  Majesty's  Procla- 
mation and  re-affirmed  in  His  Majesty's  gracious  Message  to  the 
i  luliaii  n(>oi)le. 


TFIE    EIGHTEENTH    CONGRESS  865 

Regret  of  the  Congress 

II.  Resolved— That  this  Consrress  wishes  to  place  on  record 
its  great  regret  at  the  death  of  Mr.  R.  M.  Sayani,  one  of  its  past 
Presidents,  and  of  Mr.  P.  Raugia  Naidu,  who  did  valuable  services 
in  various  capacities  to  the  interests  of  this  country. 

Poverty  and  Remedies 

III.  Resolved — That  the  Congress  earnestly  desires  to  draw 
the  attention  of  the  Government  of  India  to  the  great  poverty  of 
the  Indian  peojjle,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Congress,  is  mainly 
due  to  the  decline  of  indigenous  arts  and  manufactures,  to  the  drain 
of  the  wealth  of  the  country  which  has  gone  on  for  years,  and  to 
excessive  taxation  and  over-assessment  of  land  which  have  so  far 
impoverished  the  people  that  at  the  first  touch  of  scarcity  large 
numbers  are  forced  to  throw  themselves  on  State  help.  And  the 
Congress  recommends  tlie  following  amongst  other  remedial 
measures  : 

(1)  That  practical  stejjs  in  the  shape  of  State  encouragement 
be  taken  for  the  development  and  revival  of  indigenous  arts  and 
manufactures  and  for  the  introduction  of  new  industries. 

(2)  That  Government  be  pleased  to  establish  technical 
schools  and    colleges    at    important  centres  throughout  the  country. 

(3)  That  the  Permanent  Settlement  be  extended  to  such 
parts  of  the  country  as  are  now  ripe  for  it,  in  accordance  with  the 
conditions  laid  down  in  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India's  Despatches 
of  1862  and  1867  on  the  subject ;  and  that  reduction  of,  and  judicial 
restriction  on,  over-assessments  be  imposed  in  those  parts  of  India 
where  Government  may  still  deem  it  inadvisable  to  extend  the 
Permanent  Settlement. 

(4)  That  the  drain  of  the  wealth  of  the  counti-y  be  stopped, 
at  least  in  part,  by  a  much  wider  employment  of  the  children  of  the 
soil  in  the  higher  branches  of  the  Public  vService. 

(5)  That  Agricultural  Banks  be  established  for  the  better 
organisation  of  rural  credit  and  for  enabling  solvent  agriculturists 
to  obtain  loans  on  comparati\'ely  easy  terms. 

Enquiry  into  BJconomic  Condition 

IV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  place  on  record 
its  grateful  appreciation  of  the  efforts  which  the  Famine  Union  in 
England  is  making  to  secure  a  detailed  enquiry  into  the  economic 
condition  of  a  number  of  typical  villages  in  India.  In  tlie  opinion 
of  this  Congress,  such  an  enquiry  will  in  no  way  prove  inquisitorial 
as  apprehended,  but  will  be  of  the  highest  value  for  a  proper  under- 
standing of  the  true  condition  of  the  Indian  Ryot,  and  will  clear  up 
many    of   the    misapprehensions    which    prevail    at    present  on  the 

29 


866  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

subject  and  which  interfere  with  the  adoption  of  the  right  remedial 
measures.  That  the  C(mgress  is  of  opinion  that  such  an  enquiry, 
following  the  two  severe  famines,  is  highly  expedient,  inasmuch  as  it 
will  enable  the  Government  to  bo  placed  in  possession  of  economic 
data  of  great  utilicj'  for  purposes  of  comparison.  And  the  Congress 
hopes  that  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India  will  be  pleased  to 
rec'onsider  his  decision  in  the  matter. 

In  this  connection  the  Congress  would  respectfully  urge  that 
the  Government  of  India  should  be  pleased  to  publish  the  results  of 
the  official  enquiries  which  have  been  held  in  the  past  on  this 
subject,  notably  the  enquiry  instituted  during  tbe  time  of  Lord 
Dufferin,  extracts  from  which,  alone,  have  been  published. 

South  Africa 

V.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  once  more  urges  upon  the 
attention  of  the  Government  of  India  the  serious  grievances  of 
Indian  Settlers  in  South  Africa,  and  regrets  to  observe  that  the 
Imperialistic  spirit  of  the  British  Colonies,  instead  of  mitigating  the 
anti-Indian  legislation,  threatens  to  impose  further  disabilities  and 
hardships  on  His  Majesty's  loyal  Indian  subjects  thei"e.  In  view  of 
the  admitted  loyalty  of  these  Indian  settlers  and  the  help  rendei-ed 
by  them  during  the  late  war,  as  well  as  the  invaluable  help  rendered 
by  India  to  tlie  British  Empire  at  a  most  critical  time,  the  Congress 
fervently  praj's  that  the  Government  of  India  will  be  pleased  to 
take  the  necessary  practical  steps  to  secure  a  just,  equitable,  and 
liberal  treatment  of  the  Indian  settlers  in  Sottth  Africa. 

In  this  connection  the  Congress  notes  with  satisfaction  the 
assurance  recently  given  by  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  to  a 
deputation  that  interviewed  him  on  the  subject,  tliat  early  steps 
are  contemplated  to  relax  the  stringency  of  the  restrictions  at 
present  enforced  against  the  Indian  settlers  in  the  territories  lately 
conqupi-ed  from  the  Boer  (Joverninent. 

Monetary 

VI.  Resolved— That  this  Congress  strongly  reiterates  its  j^ro- 
test  against  the  currency  legislation  of  189.3,  which  has  artificially 
enhanced  the  value  of  the  rupee  by  more  than  thirty  per  cent, 
which  indirectly  enhances  all  taxation  to  that  extent,  and  which, 
whilst  giving  the  Government  large  surpluses  from  year  to  year, 
affects  most  injuriously  the  intei'ests  of  the  agriculturists  and  other 
]irodii<'ers  of  this  country. 

Military 

VII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  enters  its  most  emidiatic 
protest  against  the  fresh  ))ermanent  burden  of  £786,000  per  annum, 
which  the  increasi-  made  during  the  course  of  the  year  in  the  i)ay 
of  the  British    soldier   would  im|jose    on  the  roventics  of  India,  and 


THE  EIGHTEENTH  CONGRESS  367 

views  with  alann  the  recent  announcement  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  for  India,  hinting  at  a  possible  increase  in  the  near  future  of 
the  strength  of  the  British  troops  in  the  country.  In  view  of  the 
fact  that  during  the  last  three  years  lai-ge  bodies  of  British  troops 
have  with  perfect  safety  been  withdrawn  for  service  in  South  Africa 
and  China,  the  proposal  to  increase  the  strength  of  the  existing 
British  garrison  manifestly  involves  a  grievous  injustice  to  the 
Indian  tax-payer,  and  the  Congress  eai-nestly  trusts  that  the  pro- 
posal will  either  be  abandoned,  or  else  be  carried  out  at  the  cost  of 
the  British  Exchequer,  which,  in  fairness  should  bear,  not  only  the 
cost  of  any  additional  British  troojjs  that  niaj^  be  employed,  but 
also  a  reasonable  proportion  of  the  cost  of  the  existing  garrison. 

XVIII.  Eesolved — That  while  thanking  the  Govei-nment  of 
Lord  Curzon  for  opening  a  military  career  to  a  few  scions  of  noble 
families  by  the  creation  of  the  Cadet  Corps,  this  Congress  urges 
that  in  view  of  the  loyalty  and  splendid  services  rendered  by  the 
Indian  troops  to  the  British  Empire  in  the  late  Chinese  war  and 
in  other  wars.  Government  will  be  pleased  to  throw  open  to  the 
Natives  of  India  higher  posts  in  the  Military  Services  and  to 
establish  Military  Colleges  at  which  Indians  may  be  trained  for  a 
military  career  as  commissioned  and  non-commissioned  officers 
in  the  Indian  Army. 

Education 

VIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  tender  its 
respectful  thanks  to  the  Government  of  India  for  the  Circular  Letter 
recently  addressed  by  them  to  Local  Governments  on  the  subject 
of  the  Universities  Commission  Report — so  far  as  it  relates  to  the 
proposals  for  the  abolition  of  Second  Grade  Colleges  and  Law 
classes — which  has  partially  allaj'ed  the  apprehension  in  the  public 
mind  that  due  weight  might  not  be  attached  to  public  opinion  in 
taking  action  on  the  recommendations  of  the  Commission.  That 
this  Congress  views  with  the  gravest  alarm  many  of  the  Commis- 
sion's recommendations,  the  acceptance  of  which  will,  in  its  opinion, 
reverse  the  policy  steadily  pursued  during  the  last  half  of  a  century 
by  the  British  Government  in  the  matter  of  higher  education,  by 
checking  its  spread  and  restricting  its  scope,  and  by  virtually 
destroying  such  limited  independence  as  the  Universities  at  present 
enjoy. 

That  in  particular  the  Congress  objects  most  strongly  to  the 
following  recommendations  of  the  Commission  : 

(a)  The  aVjolition  of  all  existing  Second  Grade  Colleges  ex- 
cept such  as  may  be  raised  to  the  status  of  a  First  Grade  College, 
and  the  prohibition  of  the  affiliation   of  new  Second  Grade  Colleges. 

(6)  The  fixing  by  the  Syndicate  of  minimum  rates  of  fees  for 
different  colleges. 


368  HOW    INDJA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

(c)  The  introduction  of  a  rigidly  uniform  course  of  studies 
throughout  the  country,  irrespective  of  the  lines  on  which  the 
different  Universities  have  so  far  progressed. 

(d)  The  monopoly  of  legal  instruction  by  Central  Law 
Colleges,  one  for  each  Province  or  Presidency. 

(e)  The  virtual  licensing  of  all  secondary  education  by 
making  the  existence  of  all  private  schools  dependent  upon  their 
recognition  by  the  Director  of  Public  Instruction. 

(/)  And  the  officialisation  of  the  Senate  and  the  Syndicate 
and  the  practical  conversion  of  the  University  into  a  Department  of 
Government. 

IX.  Eesolved — That  this  Congress  considers  that  the  Institute 
of  Research  which  the  private  beneficence  of  Mr.  Tata  proposes  to 
establish,  should  receive  adequate  support  from  Government,  and 
the  Congress  is  strongly  of  opinion  that  similar  institutions  should 
be  founded  m  different  parts  of  the  country. 

Police 

X.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  records  its  sense  of  regret 
at  the  inadequacy  of  the  representation  on  the  Police  Commission 
of  Indian  gentlemen  of  e.xperience  on  the  subject,  and  at  the  limited 
scope  of  reference  as  indicated  in  the  Resolution  of  the  Government 
of  India,  and  in  the  opening  speech  of  the  President. 

This  Congress  further  records  its  deliberate  conviction  that  the 
Police  will  not  be  rendered  efficient  unless  the  following  among 
other  reforms  are  carried  out : 

(1)  That  men  of  adequate  qualilifation  are  secured  for 
superior  offices  in  the  Police  Service. 

(2)  That  educated  Indians  are  largely  employed  in  the 
su])erior  offices  in  the  Police  Service. 

(3)  Tliat  the  position  and  pi'osijects  of  investigating  and 
inspecting  officers  are  improved,  so  as  to  attract  educated  men  to 
the  Service. 

(4)  That  the  District  officer,  who  is  District  Magistrate 
and  head  of  the  Poh'ce,  is  reh'eved  of  his  judicial  powers  and  of  all 
control  over  the  Magistrac}'. 

Legal 

XI.  Rcsulved — That  this  Congress,  concurring  with  previous 
Congresses,  appeals  to  the  Government  of  India  and  the  SccretHry  of 
State,  to  take  earlj'  practical  steps  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out 
the  separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive  functions  in  the  administra- 
tion of  criminal  justice,  the  desirability  of  which  has  been  frequently 


THE  EIGHTEENTH  CONGRESS  369 

admitted  on  part  of  Grovernment.  In  this  connection,  the  Congress 
regrets  to  notice  that  the  trend  of  recent  legislation  is  not  only  to 
deprive  the  Judiciary  of  its  salutary  and  wholesome  power  of 
check  and  restraint  over  the  Executive,  hut  to  invest  the  Executive 
with  greater  and  uncontrolled  powers. 

ClYilian  Judges 

XII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
present  system,  under  which  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
District  Judgeships,  Joint-Judgeships  and  Assistant-Judgeships, 
are  filled  by  Covenanted  Civilians  without  any  special  legal 
training  and  without  adequate  guarantee  of  the  knowledge  of  law 
necessary  for  the  satisfactory  discharge  of  the  very  important  and 
responsilDle  judicial  duties  entrusted  to  them,  is  injurious  to  the 
best  interests  of  efficient  judicial  administration  in  the  Muffasal, 
and  that  it  is  iirgentlj-  necessary  to  devise  means  to  ensure  a  higher 
standard  of  efficiency  in  the  administration  of  law,  by  securing  the 
services  of  trained  lawyers  for  the  said  posts. 

Salt  Tax 

XIII.  Resolved — That  the  Congress  strongly  protests  against 
the  present  high  duty  on  salt,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the 
prevalence  and  spread  of  many  diseases  are  now  traced  to  the 
insufficiency  of  salt  consumed  by  the  Indian  masses,  and  that  the 
accounts  of  the  Government  of  India  have  now  been  showing 
large  sui-pluses  j'ear  after  year,  the  Congress  urges  that  Govern- 
ment should  be  pleased  to  reduce  the  Salt  Tax  bj'  at  least  the 
amount  of  its  enhancement  in  1888. 

Public    Service 

XIV.  Resolved — That  the  Congress,  concurring  with  previous 
Congresses,  again  records  its  deep  regret  that  the  labours  of  the 
Public  Service  Commission  have  practically  proved  void  of  any 
good  results  to  the  people  of  this  country,  and  is  strongly  of 
opinion  that  no  satisfactory  solution  of  the  question  is  possible, 
unless  effect  is  given  to  the  Resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons 
of  2nd  of  June,  1893,  in  favour  of  holding  the  Competitive 
Examination  for  the  Indian  Civil  Services,  i.e.,  Civil,  Medical, 
Police,  Engineering,  Telegraph,  Forest,  and  Accounts,  both  in 
England  and  in  India.  That  the  policy  of  the  Government  of 
India  in  regard  to  the  minor  Civil  Services  practically  excludes  the 
Natives  of  India  from  higher  appointments  in  them,  and  is  there- 
fore opposed  not  only  to  the  recommendations  of  the  Public 
Service  Commission  but  to  Royal  and  Viceregal  pledges  given  to 
the  Indian  people  from  time  to  time. 


370  HOW   INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

XV.  Resolved  That,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Railway 
Administration  forms  an  imjiortant  branch  of  the  P.W.  Department 
of  the  Government,  the  Congress  notices  Avith  regret  that  the 
Natives  of  India  are  practically  excluded  from  higher  appointments 
such  as  Ti'aftic  Inspectors,  District  Traffic  Superintendents, 
Accountants,  etc.,  on  State,  as  well  as  on  guaranteed  Railways,  and 
appointments  of  Rs.  200  and  above  are,  as  a  rule,  bestowed  only  on 
Europeans.  That  the  exclusive  employment  of  Europeans  in  the 
higher  posts  results  in  heavy  working  charges,  the  burden  of 
which  falls  on  the  Indian  tax-payers  at  whose  expense  the  State 
railways  have  been  constructed,  and  who  have  to  bear  the  ultimate 
liability  of  deficits  on  the  Guaranteed  Railways.  The  Congress 
therefore  deems  it  its  duty  to  urge  in  the  interests  of  economical 
railway  administration,  as  also  for  the  purjjose  of  removing 
legitimate  grievance,  that  Government  will  be  pleased  to  direct 
the  employment  of  qunlified  Indians  in  the  higher  branches  of  the 
Railway  Service. 

Cotton  £xcise  Duty 

XVI.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  fact,  that  while 
cloth  manufactured  bj^  means  of  power  looms  in  this  country  in  no 
way  competes  with  the  piece  goods  imported  from  Lancashire,  the 
imposition  of  the  Excise  duty  of  3j  per  cent  thereon,  apart  from  its 
tendency  to  arrest  the  free  growth  of  the  weaving  industry,  con- 
tinues to  operate  as  a  great  injustice  to  the  manufacturers,  and 
imposes  serious  hardship  on  the  masses  of  the  peojDle  who  consume 
the  coarser  indigenous  products.  Tin's  Congress  earnestly  prays 
that  the  Government  will  be  pleased  to  take  the  matter  into  favour- 
able considei'ation  and  repeal  the  duty  at  an  early  date. 

Medical 

XVII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  oiiinion  that  in  the 
interests  of  the  Public,  the  medical  science  and  the  profession,  as 
well  as  to  secure  economy  of  administration  it  is  necessary  — 

(1)  That  there  should  be  only  one  Military  Medical  Service, 
with  two  branches— one  for  the  European  Army  and  the  other  for 
the  Native  troops,  graduates  of  the  Indian  Colleges  being  employed 
tf)  the  latter  witli  greater  economy  and  etticiencv  to  the  State  ; 
and 

(2)  That  the  Civil  Medical  Service  of  the  country  should  bo 
reconstituted  as  a  distinct  and  iiidependent  Medical  Service,  wholl)' 
detached  from  its  jjresent  military  connection,  and  recruited  from 
the  open  profession  of  medicine  in  India  and  elsewhere,  due  regard 
being  had  to  the  utilisation  of  indigenous  talent.  That  this  Congress, 
while  gratefully  acknowledging  what  has  been  done  to  improve  the 
])osition  and  ])r()S]iects  of  the  subordinate  Medical  Service,  is  of 
()]iiiii(in    that    tlie     grievances    of   assistant    surgeons  and   hospital 


THE    EIGHTEENTH    CONGRESS  371 

assistants,    compared    with  members  of    similar     standing-  in    other 
departments  of  the  Public  Service,  require  thorougli  redress. 

Confirmation  of  Previous  Resolutions 

XIX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  concurs  with  previous 
Congresses  in  strongly  advocating ;  («)  That  with  a  view  that  the 
Judicial  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council  may  enjoy  greater 
respect  and  confidence  it  is  necessary  to  reconstitute  it  on  a  broader 
basis  and  that  the  time  is  ripe  for  the  appointment  of  Indian 
lawyers  of  eminence  as  Lords  of  the  Judicial  Committee,  to 
participate  in  the  decision  of  Indian  appeals. 

(b)  That  the  grant  of  exchange  compensation  allowance  to 
the  non-domiciled  European  and  Eurasian  employees  of  Grovernment, 
should  be  discontinued. 

(r)  That  the  rules  under  the  Arms  Act  should  be  modified 
so  as  to  make  them  equally  applicable  to  all  residents  in,  or 
visitors  to,  India,  without  distinction  of  creed,  caste,  or  colour,  to 
ensure  the  liberal  concessioa  of  licences  wherever  wild  animals 
liabitually  destroy  human  life,  cattle,  or  crops,  and  to  inake  all 
licences  granted  under  the  revised  rules,  of  lifelong  tenure, 
revocable  only  on  proof  of  misuse,  and  valid  throughout  the 
Provincial  jurisdiction  in  which  they  are  issued. 

{d)  That  a  widespread  system  of  Volunteering,  such  as 
obtains  in  Great  Britain,  should  be  introduced  amongst  the  people 
of  India. 

(e)  That  a  High  Court  of  .Judicature  be  established  in  the 
Panjab. 

(/)  That,  inasmuch  as  the  scheme  of  reorgaiiisation  of  the 
Education  Service  is  calculated  to  exclude  Natives  of  India, 
including  those  who  have  been  educated  in  England,  from  the 
superior  grade  of  the  Educational  Service  to  which  they  have 
hitherto  been  admitted,  the  scheme  should  be  recast,  so  as  to  afford 
facilities  for  the  admission  of  Indian  graduates  to  the  superior 
grade  of  the  Educational  Service. 

(g)  That  the  act  of  the  Secretary  of  State  of  India  in  fixing 
the  limit  at  two  posts  beyond  which  Natives  of  India  cannot 
comjjete  in  the  Cooper's  Hill  College  is  opposed  to  the  plain  words 
of  Act  I  of  1833,    and  to   Her  late  Majesty's  gracious  Proclamation. 

(h)  That  the  system  of  trial  by  jury  should  be  extended  to 
the  districts  and  offences  to  which  at  present  it  does  not  apply, 
and  that  the  verdicts  of  juries  should  be  final. 

(0  That  it  is  desirable  that  the  Criminal  Procedure  Code 
should  be  so  amended  as  to  confer  upon  accused  persons  who  are 
Natives  of  India,    the    right  of  claiming  in  trials  by  jury  before  the 


372  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

High  Court,  and  in  trials  with  the  aid  of  assessors,  that  not  less 
than  half  the  number  of  jurors,  or  of  the  assessors,  shall  be  Natives 
of  India. 

(j)  That  the  existint^  rules,  framed  by  the  different  Pi-ovin- 
cial  Governments  in  the  matter  of  the  Forest  Department  are  oppos- 
ed to  the  Eesolution  of  the  Government  of  India  made  in  1894,  with 
the  object  of  enunciating  the  objects  of  forest  conser\^ancy  and  that 
an  amendment  of  the  rales,  in  conformity  with  the  above  resolution, 
is  urgently  called  for  in  the  interests  of  the  inhabitants  of  rural 
India. 

Congress  Work 

XX.  Resolved — That  the  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  it  i8 
essential  for  the  success  of  its  work  that  there  should  be  a  Commit- 
tee in  London  acting  in  concert  with  it,  and  a  weekly  journal 
published  in  London  propagating  its  views,  and  this  Congress 
resolves  that  its  British  Committee,  as  at  j^resent  constituted,  and 
the  Journal  India  as  published  by  it,  be  maintained  and  continued, 
and  the  cost  be  raised  in  accordance  with  the  following  scheme  : 

That  a  circulation  of  4,000  copies  of  India  be  secured  by  allot- 
ting 1,500  copies  to  Bengal,  700  copies  to  Madras,  200  copies  to  the 
N.  W.  Provinces,  50  copies  to  Oudh,  100  copies  to  the  Panjub,  450 
copies  to  Berar  and  the  Central  Provinces  and  1,000  copies  to 
Bombay  ;  the  rate  of  yearly  subscription  being  Rs.  8. 

That  the  following  gentlemen  be  appointed  Secretaries  for  the 
circles  against  which  their  names  appear,  and  to  be  held  responsi- 
ble for  the  sums  due  for  the  cojjies  of  India  assigned  to  their 
respective  circles,  and  the  money  be  paid  in  advance  in  two  half- 
yearly  instalments  : 

Bengal  :  Berar  &  the  Cextkal  Provi nces 

Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji.  Mr.  R.  N.  Mudholkar. 

Mr.  Bhu])endranath  Basu. 

Mr.  Baikimthanath  Sen.  x.  W.  Provinces  &  Oudh  : 

Bombay  :  Pandit  M.  M.  Malaviya. 

Mr.  Ganjja  Prasad  Varraa. 


Mr.  S.  Sinha. 


Hon.  Mr.  P.  N.  Mehta. 

Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha.  ,,      ,    „      , 

Hon.  Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale.  ^^^•-  ^-  ^"'"^y- 


C awn PORE : 

Mr,  Prithwinath  Pandit. 


Madras: 

H(jn.  Mr.  Srinivasa  Rao. 

Mr.  Vijiaratchavachari.  „ 

AT      \T    I)         X'       1  •  Paxjab  : 

Mr.  V.  Ryru  ^ambier. 

Mr,  G.  Subramania  Iyer.  Lala  Harkishan  Lai 


THE    EIGHTEENTH    CONGEESS  373 

That  with  a  view  to  meet  the  balance  required  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  India  and  the  British  Committee,  a  special  delegation 
fee  of  Rs.  10  be  paid  by  each  delegate,  in  addition  to  the  usual  fee 
now  paid  by  him,  with  effect  from  1902. 

Thanks  of  Congress 

XXI.  Resolved — -That  this  Congress  tenders  its  most  grateful 
thanks  to  Sir  W.  Wedderbm-n,  and  the  other  members  of  the  British 
Congress  Committee,  for  the  services  rendered  by  them  to  India 
during  the  present  year.      [And  see  IV,  VIII,  and  XVIII.] 

Formal 

XXII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  re-appoints  Mr.  A.  0. 
Hume,  C.B.,  to  be  General  Secretary,  and  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha,  to  be 
Joint- General  Secretary,  for  the  ensuing  year. 

XXIII.  Resolved — That  the  Nineteenth  Indian  National  Con- 
gress do  assemble  after  Christmas,  1903,  at  Madras. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


Once  more  the  National  Congress  met  at  Madras,  in 
a  large  pandal  holding  nearly  6,000  persons,  erected 
in  Spring  Gardens,  Teynampet.  The  Nineteenth 
Congress  held  its  sittings  on  December  28th,  29th 
and  30th,  1903,  and  the  third  Industrial  Exhibition 
was  held  with  it,  and  was  opened,  on  December  26th, 
by  the  young  Maharaja  of  Mysore.  The  delegates 
numbered  538,  distributed  as  follows  : 


Madras  ... 

C.  P.,  Berar,  Secunderabad  and  Hyderabad 

Bengal  and  Assani 

Bombay 

U.  P 

Panjab  ... 
Burma  ... 


383 

18 

47 

76 

8 

5 

1 

538 


We  see  Hiirnia  represented  for  the  first  time,  but 
Sindh  sent  no  one  this  year. 

The  President  of  the  Reception  Conunittee,  Navvab 
Syed  Muhainniad  Sahab  Bahadur,  welcomed  the 
delegates,  and  after  announcing  the  loss  the 
Congress  had  sustained  in  the  passing  away  of 
Lord   Stanley  of  Alderley  and    the  Raja  of  Ramnad, 


THE    NINETEENTH    CONGRESS  375 

he  urged  that  Miihammadans  and  Hindus  had 
common  political  interests,  and  must  cordially  unite 
for  the  good  of  tlieir  common  country.  Some  de- 
precated political  agitation,  but  "  politics  is  the 
science  of  social  happiness,"  and  in  concerning  them- 
selves with  political  work,  they  were  following  the 
example  shown  them  by  the  British  Nation.  Im- 
patience of  criticism  was  a  common  official  fault; 
none  the  less  was  it  their  duty  to  point  out  what  Avas 
needed,  and  the  people  must  be  emancipated  from 
their  intellectual  and  political  thraldom.  He  recalled 
Lord  Ripon's  work  in  laying  the  foundations  of 
Self-Grovernment,  and  suggested  that  a  statue 
should  be  erected  to  him. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  P.  M.  Pherozeshah  Melita  proposed 
Mr.  Lai  Mohan  Grhose  for  formal  election  as  President, 
paying  tribute  to  his  great  gifts ;  Mr.  Eardley 
Norton  seconded,  the  Hon.  Pandit  M.  M.  Malaviya 
supported,  and  the  election  was  confirmed  with 
deafening  cheers. 

The  President  said  that  though  for  some  3^ears 
he  had  not  taken  an  active  part  in  politics,  he  had 
been  thinking  over  political  problems  and  had 
followed  with  unabated  interest  the  course  of  events, 
and  perhaps  the  views  thus  slowly  matured  might  be 
more  valuable  than  if  he  had  been  speaking  all 
the  time.  Lord  Curzon  saAV  the  hand  of  Providence 
in  the  extension  of  British  rule,  and  said  everyone 
would  admit  it  was  for  his  good.  But  Providence 
was  too  often  appealed  to  both  by  the  g'overning 
classes  and  by  the  leaders  of  the  masses. 


376  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Coming-  to  tlie  case  of  our  own  country,  although  there 
is  not  a  man  amongst  us  who  is  not  sincerely  loyal  to 
the  British  Government,  yet,  claiming  the  undoubted 
right  of  British  subjects  to  criticise  the  acts  of  the 
Government,  may  we  not  respectfully  ask  our  rulers — and 
in  this  connection  I  make  no  distinction  between  the 
different  English  political  parties — may  we  not  ask 
whether  we  are  to  believe  that  the  policy  which  many 
years  ago  killed  our  indigenous  industries,  which  even 
only  the  other  day  and  under  a  Liberal  administration 
unblushingly  imposed  excise  duties  on  our  cotton  manu- 
factures, which  steadily  drains  our  National  resources  to 
the  extent  of  something  like  20  millions  sterling  per 
annum,  and  which,  by  imposing  heavy  burdens  on  our 
agricultural  population,  increases  the  frequency  and 
intensity  of  our  famines  to  an  extent  unknown  in  former 
times — are  we  to  believe  that  the  various  administrative 
acts  which  have  led  to  those  results  were  directly  inspired 
by  a  beneficent  Providence  P 

The  speaker  then  turned  to  the  very  sore  subject 
of  Lord  Curzon's  Delhi  Darbar,  with  its  extravagance, 
the  treatment  accorded  to  the  Indian  Princes — "  sub- 
jected to  a  humiliation  they  had  never  before  known 
under  the  British  Government  " — and  the  Indian 
visitors,  who  returned  "  with  bitter  memories  of 
the  different  treatment  received  by  Iiidians  and 
Europeans  ".  The  growing  feeling  of  dislike  to  Ijord 
Curzon  was  intensified  by  the  anger  aroused  by  that 
unfortunate  pageant.     The  President  said  : 

We  are  not  a  Self- Governing  Nation.  We  are  not 
able,  like  the  Englisli  people,  to  change  one  administra- 
tion for  another  by  our  votes  in  the  polling  booths.  We 
have  to  depend  entirely  upon  the  justice  of  tlie  British 
Parliament  ;  for  unfortunately  it  is  only  too  true  that, 
as  time  advances,  our  Indian  bureaucracy,  instead  of  com- 
ing into  line  with   popular  ideas,  seems  to  grow  more  and 


THE    NINETEENTH    CONGRESS  377 

mox'e  unsjmpatlietic.  Do  j'ou  think  that  any  administra- 
tion in  England,  or  France,  or  the  United  States,  would 
have  ventured  to  waste  vast  sums  of  money  on  an  empty 
pageant,  when  Famine  and  Pestilence  were  stalking  over 
the  land,  and  the  Angel  of  Death  was  flapping  his  wings 
almost  within  hearing  of  the  light-hearted  revellers  ? 
Gentlemen :  a  year  has  now  rolled  by  since  the  great 
political  pageant  was  held  at  Delhi  against  the  almost 
unanimous  protests  of  all  our  public  and  representative 
men  both  in  the  press  and  on  the  platform.  On  what 
ground  did  they  pi^otest  ?  They  protested,  not  because 
they  were  Avanting  in  loyalty  to  the  Sovereign,  whose 
coronation  it  was  intended  to  celebrate,  but  because  they 
felt  that  if  His  Majesty's  Ministers  had  done  their  duty, 
and  had  laid  before  him  an  unvarnished  story  of  his 
famine-stricken  subjects  in  India,  His  Majesty,  wdth  his 
characteristic  sympathy  for  suffering  humanity,  would 
himself  have  been  the  first  to  forbid  his  representatives 
in  this  country  to  offer  a  pompous  pageant  to  a  starving 
population.  However,  our  protests  were  disregarded, 
and  the  great  tamasha  was  celebrated,  with  that  utter 
recklessness  of  expense  whicli  you  may  alwaj's  expect 
when  men,  no  matter  how  highly  placed,  were  dealing 
with  other  people's  money,  and  were  practically  accoun- 
table to  no  one  for  their  acts. 

We  are  all  familiar  with  the  financial  jugglery  which, 
by  distributing  the  expenses  under  various  and  sometimes 
under  the  most  unexpected  headings,  makes  it  so  dif- 
ficult for  ordinary  men  to  find  out  the  total  cost  of  such 
a  pageant.  Still,  whether  you  estimate  that  cost  by  a 
few  lakhs  more  or  less,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  if  even 
half  of  the  vast  sum  spent  in  connection  with  the  Delhi 
Darliar  had  been  made  over  for  the  purposes  of  famine 
relief,  it  might  have  been  the  means  of  saving  millions 
of  men,  women  and  children  from  death  by  starvation. 

The  President  then  discussed  the  questions  of  Free 

Trade    and    Fair    Trade  as   affecting    India,    dealing 

caustically    with   Mr.  Chamberlain's   programme,  and 

proceeded    to   analyse   the   causes    of   the   increasing 

30 


378  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

poverty  of  India.  Anarchy  had  been  put  an  end 
to,  but  "  after  all  it  makes  but  little  difference 
whether  millions  of  lives  are  lost  on  account  of  war  and 
anarchy,  or  whether  the  same  result  is  brought  about 
by  famine  and  starvation ".  The  President  next 
referred  to  the  burden  of  military  extravagance,  the 
maladministration  of  justice,  and  the  physical  ill- 
treatment  of  Indians  by  Europeans  and  the  impos- 
sibility of  obtaining  redress,  saying  that  he  was 
hopeless  of  obtaining  justice  where  crimes  of  violence 
on  Indians  were  committed,  unless  Parliament  Avould 
take  up  the  question.  Leftres  de  cachet  were  abolished 
in  France  in  1789,  but  were  introduced  here  in  1818, 
and  were  not  a  dead  letter.  Lately,  they  had  had  a 
Sedition  Act,  and  this  year  Lord  Curzon  had  thrown 
a  bombshell  into  their  midst  with  the  Official  Secrets 
Bill,  which  relieved  the  prosecution  of  giving  evidence 
to  prove  the  guilt  of  the  accused,  and  left  the  accused 
to  prove  his  innocence — a  reversal  of  all  civilised 
jurisprudence.  The  Universities  Bill,  officialising 
the  centres  of  learning,  came  in  for  trenchant  criticism. 
Then  followed  a  plea  for  compulsory  free  primary 
education,  a  condemnation  of  tlie  "  retrograde  and 
reactionary  Madras  Municipal  Bill,"  a  pressing  of  the 
claims  of  Indian  industries,  ending  on  a  glad  note  of 
some  sympathy  shown  in  England,  and  the  rapproche- 
ment l)et\ve('n  Hindus  inid  M  iiliiiiiimadans. 

Thus  ended  one  of  the  ablest  speeches  uttered  by  a 
President  of  the  National  Congress.  Headers  will  do 
well  to  note  the  increasing  signs  of  the  coming 
danger,    forced    on    by    Ijord    Curzon's  policy  against 


THE    NINETEENTH    CONGRESS  379 

all  the  warnings  of  the  Congress.  Coercion  created 
unrest ;  a  feeling  of  general  insecurity  arose,  owing 
to  the  odious  system  of  the  lettres  de  cachet,  under 
which  no  man's  liberty  was  safe ;  men  began  to 
despair  of  improvement,  and  secret  societies  were 
formed.  The  voice  of  Congress  was  disregarded, 
and  its  leaders  lived  under  the  shadow  of  arrest. 
Each  year  showed  growing  anger  and  increasing  re- 
sentment  again  the  Curzonian  rule. 

The  Congress  adjourned  for  the  day,  after  the 
Subjects  Committee  had  been  approved. 

The  second  day  began  with  the  expression  of 
sorrow  for  the  loss  sustained  by  India  in  the  deaths 
of  Lord  Stanley  of  Alderley,  Mr.  W.  S.  Caine  and 
the  Raja  of  Eamnad,  the  Resolution  being  pu^rom 
the  Chair  and  passed  in  silence,  standing. 

Resolution  IT,  moved  by  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha,  dealt 
with  the  deeply  felt  wrong  of  the  exclusion  of  Indians 
from  the  higher  grades  of   the  Public    Service.^     He 

'  Survey  Department  (if  the  Government  of  India. — 132  Officers 
salaries  from  Es.  300 — 2,000,  only  two  are  Indians  on  Rs.  300. 

Government  Telegraph  Department. --b'i  Appointments  of  Rs.  500 
and  more,  only  one  Indian. 

Indo-British  Telegraph. — 13  Officers  above  Rs.  .500  salary,  not  an 
Indian. 

Mint  Department. — 6   Officers    above    Rs.  500  pay,  not  an  Indian. 

Poitt  Office. — Last  year  only  1  Indian  among  the  10  men  drawing 
more  than  Rs.  500,  who  w^as  a  member  of  the  Civil  Service. 

Geological  Surrey. — 2  out  of  the  Officers  drawing  salaries  above 
lis.  500,  an  Indian. 

Botanical  Survey.— 1^ one. 

In  the  Foreign  Department. — Out  of  22  such  Officers  only  3  are 
Indians. 

Miscellaneous. — There  are  22  Officers,  of  whom  there  is  not  a 
single  Indian. 

Financial  Department. — 14  are  Indians  out  of  59  who  draw  more 
than  Rs.  500  pay. 


380  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

gave  some  striking  statistics  of  the  various  Services, 
showing  how  foreigners  everywhere  kept  out  [ndians, 
leaving  the  badly  paid  offices  to  the  people  of  the 
country  and  monopolising  the  well-paid,  a  condition 
intolerable  to  the  self-respect  of  the  people  of  any 
civilised  land.  "  We  do  not  grumble  at  Europeans 
having  a  share  of  the  loaves  and  fishes,  but  we  do 
grumble  and  make  it  a  strong  grievance  that  the  bigger 
and  most  numerous  loaves  are  delil)erately  allowed, 
in  defiance  of  charters,  pledges  and  proclamations,  to 
go  to  the  whites,  and  smaller  and  fewer  loaves  to 
the  blacks." 

It  is  not  open  to  us  to  suspect  the  motives  of 
Government,  but  Government  may  do  so,  and  castigate 
us  to  any  extent,  as  Lord  Curzon  tried  the  other  day  to 
castigfate  Mr.  Gokhalemost  wrongfully.  It  comes  to  this, 
tliat  what  is  mild  or  inoffensive  in  the  captain  becomes 
choleric  and  blasphemous  in  the  soldier.  So  on  our  part 
it  is  blasphemous  to  attribute  motives  to  Government, 
but  it  is  not  lilaspliemous  for  the  Government  to  rave  and 
rant  and  castigate  us  to  its  heart's  content.  .  .  .  Through- 
out the  whole  career  of  the  British  Indian  Government, 
not  from  to-day  but  from  the  days  of  the  East  India 
Company,  tliere  is  this  tradition  to  give  a  promise  to  the 
ear  and  to  In-eak  it  to  the  lieart,  and  they  faitlifully  and 
loj'ally  follow  tluit  tradition.  In  tlie  case  of  the  Public 
Service  Commission,  we  have  found,  to  our  bitter  cost 
and  experience,  that  the  same  traditional  policy  has  been 
carried  on.  Promises  were  most  profusely  given  to  us  ; 
a  Commission  Avas  appointed  amid  a  gi^oat  flourish ; 
finality  was  to  be  given  to  our  legitimate  aspirations  and 
our  just  grievances  were  to  be  fairly  redressed.  It  has 
been  so  for  the  la.st  half  century.  When  the  practice 
comes,  we  find  ourselves  exactl}'  in  the  same  situation  as 
w'e  Avere  in  before  the  Commission  Avas  appointed.  This 
is  the  tale  of  our  grievances,  of  our  legitimate  and  fair 
grievances. 


*rHE    NINETEENTH    CONGEESS  381 

So  spake  Mr.  Wacha  in  1903.  We  have  now,  in 
1915,  the  Report  of  another  Public  Service  Commission 
awaiting  publication.  The  same  old  story  will  be 
repeated.  How  can  it  be  otherwise  when  the 
Commissions  are  predominantly  Anglo-Indian,  and 
when  the  power  and  place  of  the  Anglo-Indian  depend 
on  his  asserting  that  the  Indian  is  unfit  ? 

Mr.  G.  Subramania  Iyer  seconded,  showing  how 
Indians  had  been  more  and  more  ousted  from  positions 
of  influence,  giving  them  no  opportunity  of  developing 
their  powers;  where  was  an  Indian  Marquis  of  Ito, 
or  Count  Okuma  ?  Europeans  were  paid  large  salaries 
while  they  gained  experience  here,  and  then  were 
given  high  positions  abroad  to  utilise  outside  India 
the  experience  gained  in  India. 

They  say  there  should  be  an  irreducible  minimvim  of 
Enolisbmen.  What  does  it  mean  P  Slavery  is  engrained 
in  the  skin  of  our  body.  If  we  in  our  own  country 
are  not  to  be  trusted  with  responsible  appointments, 
if  our  own  Government  Avill  not  take  us  into  their 
confidence  and  place  us  in  offices  which  will  give  us 
responsibility  in  the  administration  of  our  own  country, 
what  is  it,  Gentlemen,  but  slavery  ?  We  are  hewers 
of  wood  and  drawers  of  water,  and  nothing  more. 
....  In  every  department  tliere  is  a  regular  retro- 
grade policy  being  pursued.  On  the  one  hand,  they 
go  on  making  promises  and  giving  us  hopes  and 
assurances,  and  on  the  other  hand  they  go  on  adopting  a 
backward  policy.  After  a  hundred  years  we  have  not  ad- 
vanced by  one  inch,  but  have  gone  a  long  distance  back- 
ward from,  where  we  were. 

Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  spoke  to  the  resolution, 
declaring  that  "  we  have  lost  ground,  but  our  cause 
is   one   of    righteousness    and    justice,"    and    he    felt 


382  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

"  confident  that  the  day  will  come  which  will 
mark  the  ultimate  triumph  of  equality,  and  of  equal 
principles  even  in  this  unhappy  land  of  ours ". 
Messrs.  Peary  Lai  Grhose  and  Abdul  Kasim  followed 
and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  III  on  the  rise  of  land  assessment,  was 
entrusted  to  Mr.  L.  A.  Grovindaraghava  Iyer,  who 
pointed  out  that  Permanent  Settlement,  and  where  that 
could  not  be,  longer  terms  of  Settlement  would  better 
the  condition  of  the  ryot.  He  showed  that  more  was 
demanded  than  the  ryot  could  pay,  whereas  he  ought 
to  be  so  taxed  that  he  could  save  in  good  seasons  and 
so  face  bad  ones.  In  1852,  the  Secretary  of  State 
sent  out  a  statesmanlike  despatch  on  Permanent 
Settlement,  but  the  present-day  Government  was  not 
politically  wise. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Parekli  seconded,  and  the  Resolution 
was  supported  by  Messrs.  Peter  Paul  Pillai,  N. 
Srinivasavarada  Chariar,  S.  Subranianiam,  P.  R. 
Sundara  Iyer,  and  cai-ried. 

Resolution  IV,  on  Soutli  Africa,  was  moved  by 
Dr.  U.  L.  Uesai  and  seconded  by  Mr.  S.  K.  Nair. 
Mr,  C.  F.  Sievwright  brought  a  petition  from  Indians 
in  Australia,  asking  to  be  rescued  from  the  degrading 
restrictions  placed  on  fliciii.  Mr.  V.  (1.  Vasudeva 
l*illai,  the  first  delegate  from  the  newly  created 
Jiurinese  Congress  centre,  supported,  and  the 
Jiesolution  being  carried,  1  lie  Congress  rose  for  the 
day. 

On  the  third  day.  Resolution  V,  on  the  Universities 
Bill,  was  moved    by  Mr.  Surendranath   Bannerji,  who 


THE    NINETEENTH    CONGRESS  383 

pointed  out  that  Government  was  taking  control  of 
Higher  Education,  as  it  had  limited  the  civil  freedom 
of  their  Corporations.  The  new-fangled  Imperialism 
was  darkening  the  prospects  of  human  freedom. 
Lord  Curzon's  "  name  would  go  down  to  posterity 
indissolubly  linked  with  a  reactionary  and  retrograde 
measure  which  has  been  condemned  by  the  unanimous 
opinion  of  educated  India  '\  They  were  told  that  a 
body  of  educational  experts  met  in  1901,  and  advised 
changes.  They  "  met  in  secret,  deliberated  in  secret, 
resolved  in  secret,  and,  I  presume,  dispersed  in 
secret  ".  The  Senates  were  against  the  Bill,  and 
they  had  public  opinion  behind  them.  The  Univer- 
sities were  made  Clovernment  Departments.  Private 
institutions  would  be  checked,  private  colleges  de- 
stroyed, the  educational  area  restricted.  The  Bill 
made  a  revolution. 

Mr.  A.mbalal  Saharlal  Desai  seconded  the  Re- 
solution, and  it  was  supported  by  Messrs.  Hari- 
prasad  Chatterji,  R.  N.  Mudholkar,  G.  Subramania 
Iyer,  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  and  Mr.  Chou- 
dhuri,  all  voicing  protest  and  condemnation.  The 
Resolution  passed,  and  the  results  of  that  reactionary 
and  mischievous  measure  have  folly  justified  the 
protest  of  the  Congress. 

Resolution  VI,  on  the  Official  Secrets  Bill,  was 
viewed  with  equal  disapproval,  as  "  against  the 
interests  of  the  public,  dangerous  to  individual 
liberty  and  retrograde  in  policy  ".  Mr.  Bishan  Nara- 
yan  Dhar  moved  the  Resolution,  saying  that  no 
measure     of     equal     importance    had    ever   been    so 


384  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR   PEEEDOM 

universally  condemned.  In  the  Imperial  Council 
Nawab  Syed  Muhammad  and  Mr.  Gokhale  had  earned 
the  country's  gratitude  by  denouncing  it,  "an  odious, 
nay,  iniquitous  measure,"  of  which  "  it  is  impossible 
to  speak  with  patience  or  moderation  ".  "  Lord 
Curzon  is  astonished  that  this  should  be  described  as 
Russianising  the  administration.  I  am  astonished 
that  anyone  should  be  so  imperfectly  informed  re- 
garding the  Russian  Government,  as  to  think  that  it 
has  got  anything  in  its  purely  civil  laws  so  arbitrary 
and  so  disastrous  to  the  civil  liberties  of  the 
people  as  Lord  Curzon 's  Bill,  if  passed,  would 
be  in  this  country."  Running  over  the  changes 
in  the  law  made  by  the  Bill,  the  speaker  described 
them  as  "  monstrous,  odious  and  iniquitous  in  the 
extreme,"  and  as  "  calculated  to  shake  our  confidence 
in  the  justice  and  fairness  of  our  rulers".  "The 
policy  of  coercion  and  distrust  is  a  mistaken,  a 
suicidal  policy."  Mr.  Murlidhar  seconded  the  Reso- 
lution, and  it  was  supported  by  the  Hon.  Mr. 
G.  Srinivasa  Rao  and  carried.  The  Bill  was,  in  due 
course,  added  to  the  Coercion  Legislation. 

Resolution  VII,  on  military  expenditure,  moved  by 
Mr.  N.  M.  Samarth,  seconded  by  Mr.  Y.  Krishna- 
swami  Iyer,  supported  l)y  Messrs.  Charu  Chandra 
Ghose  and  Mr.  G.  A.  Natesan,  and  carried,  need  not 
detain  us,  as  it  is  one  of  our  hardy  annuals  ;  but 
Resolution  VIII  was  a  novelty,  for  it  thanked  the 
Government  for  reducing  the  Salt  Tax  and  raising 
the  assessable  minimum  of  Income-Tax,  thus 
gi'anting  two  requests  of  the  Congress  :  the  Resolution 


THE    NINETEENTH    CONGRESS  385 

was   moved   by  Mr.  C.  Y.   Chintamani,    seconded  by 
Miss  Balgarnie,  and  carried, 

Mr.  J.  Choudhuri  moved  Resobition  IX,  on  the 
Partition  of  Bengal,  that  high-handed  measure  Avhich 
nearly  led  to  a  revolution,  and  was  annulled  by  the 
King-Emperor  in  1911.  Indians  were  trying  to  weld 
Indian  nationalities  into  a  Nation,  but  Lord  Curzon 
would  "divide  us  and  rule".  Mr.  Gr.  Raghava  Rao 
seconded,  and  then  Mr.  V.  Krishnaswami  Iyer  moved 
an  amendment  to  omit  the  later  part  of  the  Resolution 
Avhich  dealt  with  a  proposal  to  separate  certain 
districts  from  Madras.  The  Amendment  was  lost  and 
the  Resolution  carried. 

Resolution  X  condemned  the  Madras  Municipal 
Bill,  said  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Krishna  Nair,  the  mover, 
to  be  "  highly  reactionary,  retrograde  and  re- 
volutionary " :  the  Corporation  consisted  of  24  men 
elected  by  the  people  and  8  nominated;  the  Bill 
reduced  the  popular  representatives  to  16,  and  gave 
8  to  associations  wholly  or  mainly  composed  of 
Europeans.  A  similar  Bill  had  ruined  the  Calcutta 
Municipality.  Mr.  A.  C.  Parthasarathi  Naidu  second- 
ed, saying  that  the  Bill  reduced  Local  Self-Government 
to  a  sham,  and  carefully  analysing  the  provisions  of 
the  Bill.     The  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  XI,  recommending  the  election  of 
certain  gentlemen  to  Parliament,  and  Resolution 
XII  thanking  the  Government  for  the  Co-operative 
Credit  Societies  Bill  were  carried.  The  President 
then  put  from  the  Chair  the  Omnibus,  Resolution 
XIII,  and   Resolution   XIV,   the  usual  vote  of  thanks 


386  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

to  Sir  William  Wedderburn  and  the  British  Com- 
mittee. Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  moved  the 
re-appointment  of  Mr.  A.  0.  Hume  and  Mr,  D.  E. 
Wacha,  adding  the  Hon.  Mr.  Gr.  K.  Gokhale  as  a 
second  Joint  General  Secretary.  Resolution  XY 
fixed  the  next  sitting  of  the  Congress  at  Bombay, 
and  with  the  usual  votes  of  thanks  the  Nineteenth 
Session    of   the   National   Congress   found  its  ending. 

RESOLUTIONS 

Sorro-w  of  Congress 

I.  Eesolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  put  on  i-ecord  its 
sense  of  the  deep  and  irreparable  loss  sustained  by  India  by  the 
deaths  of  Lord  Stanley  of  Alderley  and  Mr.  W.  S.  Caine,  the 
memory  of  whose  services  the  people  of  India  will  always  cherish 
with  gratitude. 

That  this  Congress  also  wishes  to  place  on  record  its  deep 
regret  at  the  death  of  the  Raja  of  Ramnad,  who  has  always  been  a 
distinguished  benefactor  of  the  Congress. 

Public  Service 

II.  («)  That  this  Congress,  concurring  with  previous 
Congresses,  again  records  its  deep  regret  that  the  labours  of 
the  Public  Service  Commission  have  practically  proved  void  of 
any  good  result  to  the  people  of  this  country ;  that  while  the 
recommendations  of  the  Commission  did  not  secure  full  justice  to 
the  claims  of  the  people  of  the  country  to  larger  and  more  extended 
employment  in  the  higher  grades  of  the  Public  Sei'vice,  the 
Government  have  not  even  carried  them  out  in  their  integrity,  and 
have  not  extended  the  principle  of  appointing  Indians  to  new 
appointments  since  created  from  time  to  time,  and  in  Special 
Departments  such  as  the  Salt,  Oi)iuni,  Medical  and  Police  Depart- 
ments, the  Survey  Deportment  of  the  Government  of  India,  the 
Government  Telegrai)h  Department,  the  Indo-British  Telegraph 
Department,  the  Mint  Dejtartment,  the  Postal  Dejiartment,  and  the 
Foriugn  Departuicnt. 

(h)  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  recent  policy  of 
the  heads  of  de])artments  and  of  the  authorities  responsible  for 
Railway  administrations  proscribing  the  ap])ointment  of  Indians 
in  the  Public  and  the  Railway  Services  is  a  grave  violation  of  the 
pledges  and  assurances  given  by  the  Government. 


IHE    NINETEENTH    CONGRESS  387 

(c)  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  in  oi'der  to  arrest 
the  economic  drain  that  is  caused  by  the  present  system  of  appoint- 
ments by  the  Government,  to  secure  to  the  people  of  the  country 
the  invaluable  benefit  of  the  experience  and  knowledge  which  a 
training  in  the  Public  Service  affords,  and  to  introduce  economy  in 
the  administration,  a  policy  of  free  employment  of  the  Natives  of 
the  soil  in  all  branches  of  the  Service,    is  imperatively  demanded. 

Permanent  Settlement 

III.  That  this  Congress  views  with  alarm  the  tendency  to  in- 
crease the  land  revenue  assessment  every  time  there  is  a  revision, 
and  declares  its  firm  conviction  that  the  policy  of  raising  the  assess- 
ment so  frequently  and  so  heavily  is  increasing  the  poverty  of  the 
agricultural  population  of  this  country  and  rendering  them  still 
further  unfit  to  withstand  the  periodical  visitations  of  bad  seasons 
and  fanunes  than  they  are  now.  This  Congress,  therefore,  prays 
that  the  Permanent  Settlement  be  extended  to  such  parts  of  the 
country  as  are  now  ripe  for  it,  as  laid  down  in  the  Secretary  of 
State  for  India's  despatches  of  1862  and  1867  on  the  subject  ;  and 
that  Settlements  for  longer  periods  be  made,  and  judicial  and  legis- 
lative restrictions  on  over-assessments  be  imposed,  in  those  parts  of 
India  where  Government  naay  still  deem  it  inadvisable  to  extend 
the  Permanent  Settlement. 

Indians   in  the  Colonies 

IV.  That  this  Congress  views  with  grave  concern  and 
regret  the  hard  lot  of  His  Majesty's  Indian  subjects  living  in 
British  Colonies  in  South  Africa,  Australia  and  elsewhere,  the 
great  hardshijis  and  disabilities  to  which  they  arc  subjected  by  the 
Colonial  Governments,  and  the  consequent  degradation  of  their 
status  and  rights  as  subjects  of  the  King,  and  protests  against  the 
treatment  of  Indians  by  the  Colonies  as  backward  and  uncivilised 
races  ;  and  it  prays  that,  in  view  of  the  great  part  the  Indian 
settlers  have  played  in  the  development  of  the  Colonies  and  the 
economic  advantages  which  have  resulted  both  to  India  and  to  the 
Colonies  from  their  emigration  to  and  stay  in  the  latter,  the 
Government  of  India  will  be  pleased  to  ensure  to  them  all  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  British  citizenship  in  common  with  the  European 
subjects  of  His  Majesty,  by  enforcing,  if  necessary,  such  measui'es 
as  will  render  it  imjjossible  for  the  Colonies  to  secure  Indian  immi- 
grants except  on  fair,  equitable  and  honourable  terms  ;  and  that  in 
view  to  the  great  importance  of  the  principle  of  ecjual  treatment  to 
all  His  Majesty's  subjects,  His  Majesty's  Government  should  devise 
adequate  measures  to  ensure  that  position  to  Indian  emigrants  in 
all  the  British  Colonies. 

Education 

V.  That  this  Congress,  while  welcoming  any  wisely  con- 
sidered    scheme     for    the    reform    of   the    educational   policy   of 


388  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

Government,  is  of  ojDinion  that  the  Universities  Bill,  if  passed  into 
law,  will  have,  as  recommended  in  tlie  report  of  the  Universities 
Commission,  the  effect  of  restricting  the  area  of  education  and 
completely  destroying  the  independence  of  the  Universities  upon 
which  largely  depend  their  efficiency  and  usefulness,  and  of  turning 
them  practically  into  departments  of  Government. 

That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  provisions  of  the  Bill 
will  not  remove  the  shortcomings  of  the  present  system  of  higher 
education  but  that  provision  for  funds  and  improvement  in  the 
standard  of  teaching  by  the  agency  of  a  superior  class  of  teachers 
are  imperatively  needed  in   the  interests  of  higher  education. 

That  tliis  Congress  ])rays  for  the  following    modifications  : 

(/f)  That  each  University  should  be  dealt  with  by  a  separate 
Act. 

(h)  That  in  the  case  of  the  older  Universities  the  number  of 
ordinary  Fellows  should  not  bo  less  than  200,  of  whom  at  least  80 
sliould  be  elected  by  registered  graduates  and  20  by  the  members 
of  the  Faculties,  and  that,  in  the  case  of  the  Universities  of  Allaha- 
bad and  of  the  Panjab,  a  similar  provision  should  be  made. 

(c)  That  the  ordinary  Fellows  slnnild  hold  office  as  at  ])resent 
for  life,  but  should  be  liable  to  disqualification  for  absence  during  a 
fixed  jicriod. 

((/)  That  the  provision  of  a  statutory  proportion  for  the 
heads   of    Colleges    on    the  Syndicate  be  omitted. 

(fi)  That  all  graduates  of  ten  years'  standing  in  a  Faculty  be 
declared  eligible  to  vote. 

(/)  That  the  section  making  it  obligatory  upon  Colleges 
which  a])}ilj'  for  affiliation  or  have  been  affiliated  to  provide  for 
suitable  residential  quarters  for  students  and  professors  and  for 
the  permanent  maintenance  of  the  Colleges  be  omittt^l. 

(;/)  That  as  regards  affiliation  and  disaffiliation  tiie  decision 
should,  instead  of  being  tiie  direct  act  of  Government  as  under  the 
liiil,  b(!  as  at  ]n-(^scnt.  the  ai't  of  the  Universit}',  subject  to  the 
sanction  of  Government. 

(h)  That  as  regiu-ds  the  insjiection  of  Colleges  it  should  be 
conducted  by  ])ersons  si)ecially  appointed  by  the  Syndicate, 
unconnected  witli  the  Government  Educational  Department  or  any 
aided  oi'  unaided  College. 

(/)  That  the  jiower  of  ninking  bye-laws  and  regulations 
should  as  at  i)rescnt  be  vested  in  the  Senate,  subject  to  tiie  sanction 
of  (he  Government. 


THE    NINETEENTH    CONGRESS  389 

Coercion 

Official  Secrets  Bill 

VI.  That  this  Congress  views  with  entire  disapproval  the 
Official  Secrets  Bill  now  before  the  Supreme  Legislative  Council 
inasmuch  as  it  is  uncalled  for,  against  the  interests  of  the 
public,  dangerous  to  individual  liberty  and  retrograde  in  policy,  and 
prays  that  the  Government  of  India  may  be  pleased  to  confine  its 
scope  to  the  disclosure  of  Naval  and  Military  secrets 

Military 

VII.  (a)  That  this  Congi-ess  reiterates  its  opinion  that 
the  scope  of  the  measures,  which  have  been  undertaken  from 
time  to  time  for  increasing  the  army  in  India,  for  armaments  and 
fortifications  with  a  view  to  the  security  of  India,  not  against 
domestic  enemies,  or  against  the  incursions  of  warlike  peoples  of 
adjoining  countries,  but  to  maintain  the  supremacy  of  British 
Power  in  the  East,  and  on  which  millions  of  Indian  money  have 
been  spent,  reach  far  beyond  the  Indian  limits  in  that  the  policy 
that  has  dictated  these  measures  is  an  Imperial  policy  ;  and  that, 
therefore,  the  Indian  Army  Charges,  which  not  only  include  the  cost 
of  the  native  army  but  also  that  of  the  British  forces  amounting  to 
about  one-third  of  the  whole  British  army  which,  foimis  the 
Imperial  Garrison  in  India,  are  excessive  and  unjust,  especially 
having  regard  to  the  fact  that  the  Colonies  which,  are  equally 
dependent  upon  and  indebted  to  the  mother-country  for  their 
protection,  contribute  little  or  nothing  towards  the  Imperial  military 
expenditure. 

(b)  That  inasmuch  as  lai-ge  bodies  of  British  troops  have 
with  perfect  safety  and  without  imperilling  the  peace  of  the 
country,  been  withdrawn  for  Service  outside  the  statutory  limits  of 
India,  this  Congress  is  of  opinion,  that  the  Indian  tax-payers  should 
be  gi-anted  substantial  relief  out  the  British  Exchequer  towards  the 
cost  of  maintaining  in  India  the  present  strength  of  the  European 
army. 

((■)  That  this  Congress  pi'otests  most  emphaticallj^  against 
the  manner  in  which  the  Indian  revenues  have  been  charged 
with  £786,300  per  annum  for  the  increased  cost  of  the  recruitment 
of  the  British  army,  in  spite  of  the  Viceroy  of  India  and  his  Council 
having  strongly  condemned  such  a  charge  as  being  injurious  to 
Indian  interests,  and  as  calculated  to  retard  many  urgent  ineasures 
of  domestic  reform  now  under  contemplation  or  in  course  of 
initiation. 

(d)  That  this  Congress  reitei-ates  its  conviction  that  inasmuch 
as  the  army  amalgamation  of  1859  has  all  along  been  the  cause  of 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  unjust  aud  excessive  burden  of  Indian 

31 


390  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    i^OR    FREEDOM 

military    oxponditure,    the    time    has    come    when    steps  shouUl  be 
taken  to  have  that  system  wliolly  abolished. 

Thanks  of  Congress 

VIII.  That  this  Conofress  tenders  its  tlianks  to  the  Government 
of  India  for  the  i-elief  granted  to  the  poorei'  classes  of  the 
country  by  the  reduction  of  the  Salt-Tax  and  by  raising  the 
assessable  minimum  for  Income-Tax,  and  prays  that  the  Government 
of  India  be  pleased  to  make  a  futher  reduction  in  the  Salt-Tax. 

XII.  That  this  Congress  tenders  its  thanks  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  for  the  introduction  of  the  Co-operative  Credit 
Societies'  Bill  into  the  Viceregal  Legislative  Council,  and  trusts  that 
the  measure  may  be  so  enacted  as  to  achieve  the  objects  the 
Government  has  in  view. 

[And  see  XIV] 

Partitions 

IX.  That  this  Congress  views  witli  deep  concern  the  present 
policy  of  the  Government  of  India  in  breaking  up  territorial 
divisions  w^hich  have  been  of  long  standing  and  are  closely  united 
by  ethnological,  legislative,  social  and  administrative  relations,  and 
deprecates  the  separation  from  Bengal  of  Dacca,  Mjnnensingh, 
Chittagong  Divisions  and  portions  of  Chota  Nagpur  Division,  and 
also  the  separation  of  the  District  of  Ganjam  and  the  agency  tracts 
of  the  Ganjam  anci  Vizagapatam  Districts  from  the  Madras 
Presidency. 

Madras  Municipality 

X.  That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  policy  of  the 
Madras  Municipal  Bill,  now  before  the  local  Legislative  Council, 
is  not  in  consonance  with  the  principles  of  local  Self-Government 
in  India  laid  down  in  the  time  of  Lord  Ripon,  and  it  desires 
to  point  out  that  the  interests  of  the  rate-paj-crs  of  the  City  would 
not  be  adequately  served  by  a  lesser  representation  than  that 
of  twenty-four  members.  That,  if  the  elective  franchise  is  to  be 
given  to  associations  and  institutions,  it  is  of  opinion  that  the 
institutions  and  associations  should  be  such  as  possess  a  direct 
interest  in  the  administration  of  the  Municipal  affairs  of  the 
City,  and  that  the  number  assigned  to  tliem  should  be  very 
limited.  That  the  Madras  Railway'  and  the  Port  Trust  are  not 
bodies  to  whom  such  re]iresentatio7i  should  be  .issigned,  but  that 
it  should  be  extended  only,  if  at  all,  to  bodies  like  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  the  Traders  Association,  and  the  Universitj',  by  giving 
each  of  them  the  power  of  returning  one  member. 


THE    NINETEENTH    CONGRESS  391 

Parliamentary    Representation 

XI.  That  this  Congress  desires  to  accord  its  most  cordial 
support  to  the  candidatui-e  of  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji  for  North 
Lambeth,  Mr.  W.  C.  Bannerji  for  Walthamstow,  Sir  Henry 
Cotton  for  Nottingham,  and  Sir  John  Jardine  for  Roxburghshire,  and 
appeals  to  the  electors  of  these  constituencies  that,  iu  the  interests 
of  the  people  of  India,  they  ■will  be  pleased  to  return  them  to 
Parliament,  so  that  they  may  not  only  loyally  serve  them,  but 
represent  in  some  manner  the  people  of  a  country  which,  though  a 
part  of  the  British  Empire,  has  no  direct  rei^resentative  in  the 
British  Parliament. 

Confirmation  of  Previous  Resolutions 

XIII.  That  this  Congress  concurs  with  previous  Congresses  in 
strongly  advocating  :    [1902     ('')~(j)]- 

(k)  That  the  necessity  is  urgent  for  the  complete  separation 
of  Executive  and  Judicial  functions,  so  that  in  no  case  shall  the  two 
functions  be  combined  in  the  same  officer  ; 

(?)  That  the  simultaneous  holding  in  India  and  in  England  of 
all  examinations  for  all  Civil  branches  of  the  Public  Service  in 
India,  at  i^resent  held  only  in  India,  should  be  conceded  ; 

(»()    That    an   enquiiy    into  the    economic  condition    of  the 

Indian    ryot,    as    urged    by    the   members  of  the  Famine  Union  in 

England,    in    their   appeal    to   the    Secretary    of  State    for    India, 
should  be  instituted. 

Thanks  of  Congress  and  Congress  Work 

XIV.  That  this  Congress  desires  to  convey  to  Sir  William 
Wedderburn  and  the  other  members  of  tlie  British  Committee 
its  most  grateful  thanks  for  their  disinterested  services  in  the 
cause  of  oiu*  political  advancement. 

And  that  a  sum  of  Rs.  10,500  be  assigned  for  the  expenses  of 
the  British  Committee,  and  that  the  several  Congress  circles  do 
contribute  the  amount  allotted  to  each. 

That  the  following  gentlemen  be  appointed  Secretaries  for  the 
Circles  against  which  their  names  apijear  and  be  responsible  for  the 
sums  due  by  the  respective  Circles,  and  that  the  money  be  paid  in 
advance  in  two  half-yearly  instalments  : 

Bengal :  Bombay : 

Babu    Surendranath  Bannerji.        Hon.  Mr.  P.  M.  Mehta. 

Babu   Baikunthanath  Sen.  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha. 

Hon.  Mr.  Bhupendranath  Basu.      Hon.  Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale. 


392 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOE    FREEDOM 


Madras 

Hon.  Mr.  G.  Srinivasa  Rao. 
Hon.  Mr.  Vasudcva  Iyengar. 
Mr.  V.  Ryru  Nambier. 
Mr.  G.  Raghava  Rao, 
Berhampur. 


Berar  and  the  Central 
Provinces : 


Mr.  R.N.  Mudholkar. 


N.  W.  Provinces  &  Oudh  : 

Hon.  Pandit  M.  M. 

Malaviya. 
Mr.  Ganga  Prasad  Vanna. 
Mr.  S.  Sinha. 

Cawnpore : 

Mr.  Prithwinath  Pandit. 

Pan JAB 

Mr.  Harkishan  Lai. 


Formal 

XV.  That  this  Congress  re-apijoints  Mr.  A.  O.  Hume,  C.  B., 
to  be  General  Secretary,  and  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  to  be  Joint  General 
Secretary,  and  appoints  the  Hon.  Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale  as  additional 
Joint  General  Secretary  for  the  ensuing  year. 

XVI.  That  the  Twentieth  Indian  National  Congress  do 
assemble,  on  such  day  after  Christmas  Day,  1904,  as  may  be  later 
determined  upon,  at  Bombay. 


CHAPTER  XX 

The  Twentieth  National  Congress,  closing  the  second 
decade  of  this  powerful  organisation  met  in  Bombay 
on  the  26th,  27th  and  28th  of  December,  1904,  in 
a  large  Pavilion  on  the  Crescent  Site.  The  Congress 
met  under  the  gloom  created  by  Lord  Curzon's  policy, 
rightly  characterised  in  the  Official  Report  of  the 
Congress  as  "  repressive  and  re-actionary  " ;  there 
had  grown  up  a  feeling 

of  deep  resentment.  .  .  .  when  a  series  of  repressive 
measures — both  letjislative  and  administrative — were 
forced  by  him  on  the  country  in  the  teeth  of  the  fiercest 
opposition  from  the  public Long  before  the  Con- 
gress of  last  year  met,  it  had  come  to  be  very  generally 
recognised  that  whatever  may  be  said  in  favour  of  Lord 
Curzon's  administration,  the  educated  classes  of  the 
country,  at  any  rate,  had  in  him  no  friend,  and  that 
their  aspirations  would  receive  at  his  hands  not  merely 
cold  neglect,  but  actual  repression.  .  .  The  situation  made 
the  Congress  of  1904  one  of  unusual  importance. 

The  gathering  was  the  largest  since  1895,  1010 
delegates  registering  their  names.  They  were  divided 
as  follows  : 

Bombay  (548),  Sindh  (44),  Kathiawar  (26)    618 
C.  P.,  Berar,  Secunderabad  and  Hyderabad    104 

Madras  104 

Bengal  (99)  and  Assam  (3)  102 

U.  P 54 

Pan  jab  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...       28 

1,010 


394  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

The  Hon.  Sir  Pherozeshah  M.  Melita,  who  had 
received  the  K.C.I. E.,  the  Chairman  of  the  Reception 
Committee,  after  asking  a  choir  of  ladies  to  sing  the 
Congress  Anthem,  warmly  welcomed  the  dele- 
gates, and  congratnlated  them  on  the  presence  of 
Sir  William  Wedderburn  and  Mr.  Samuel  Smith,  M.P. 
The  Congress  voiced  once  in  each  year  the  public 
opinion  of  the  country,  and  the  surest  testimony  to 
its  value  was  the  very  policy  of  reaction  and  retro- 
gression which  it  provoked.  Tlie  possession  of  India 
was  "  a  blessing  to  England  if  administered  in  the  spirit 
of  righteousness,  a  curse  if  in  the  seductive  spirit 
of  worldliness  ".  On  the  whole,  England  had  chosen 
wisely  and  well,  but  Avhile  many  grievances — which 
take  more  than  a  page  of  the  Report  to  enumerate — 
continue,  there  would  be  "  two  parties  about  England 
in  India".     Political  agitation  there  would  be. 

The  only  question  is  whether  we  should  suppress 
and  bottle  up  our  feelings,  and  hopes,  and  aspirations 
and  our  grievances  in  the  innermost  recesses  of  our  own 
hearts,  in  the  secret  conclaves  of  our  own  brethren,  or 
deal  with  them  in  the  free  light  of  open  day.  The  former 
course  would  be  preferred  by  the  prophets  of  despair. 
We,  gentlemen,  prefer  the  latter,  because  we  have  faith 
in  the  ultimate  wisdom,  beneficence  and  righteousness  of 
the  English  people. 

Mr.  Sarendranath  Bannerji  proposed  Sir  Henry 
Cotton  as  President,  focussing  in  a  few  eloquent 
sentences  his  great  services  to  India.  Mr.  C.  Sankaran 
Nair  seconded,  Pnndit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya 
supported,  and  Sir  Henry  Cotton  took  the  Chair  amid 
loud  cheers.  A  gift  for  the  Congress  of  Rs.  4,000, 
collected    by    The    Crujartii i,  and   a    handsome   silver 


THE    TWENTIETH    CONGRESS  395 

salver    were    presented    to   Sir   Henry    by  its  Editor, 
Mr.  I.  S.  Desai. 

After  thanking  the  Congress  for  the  honour  done 
to  him,  the  President  said  that  the  Congress  was 
"  the  voice  and  brain  of  the  country,"  that  the  work 
of  educating  the  country  was  carried  on  by  other 
agencies,  and  that  the  function  of  the  Congress  was 
"  to  give  united  and  authoritative  expression  to  views 
on  wdiich  there  is  ah'eady  a  consensus  of  opinion  in 
the  covmtry  ".  The  public  opinion  of  England  needed 
to  be  moved. 

Internal  agitation  in  Ireland  was  the  necessary 
stepping'-stone  of  reform,  but  by  itself  it  accomplished 
little  ;  it  was  only  when  Irish  agitation  forced  itself  upon 
English  Liberal  statesmen,  and  was  supplemented  by  a 
powerful  phalanx  of  opinion  in  England,  that  any 
concessions  were  allowed  to  the  sister  island.  And  so  it 
is  in  the  case  of  India.  The  remedy  for  both  countries 
is  the  same. 

After  noting  the  growth  of  National  feeling',  Sir 
Henry  Cotton  quoted  with  approval  the  words  of  the 
Hon.  Mountstuart  Elphinstone,  words  which  some 
officials  in  Bombay  would  certainly  consider  seditious 
now,  except  perhaps  if  they  knew  it  was  a  quotation  : 
he  spoke  in  the  freer  days  of  1850  : 

I  conceive  that  the  administration  of  all  the  depart- 
ments of  a  great  country  by  a  small  number  of  foreign 
visitors,  in  a  state  of  isolation  produced  by  a  difference  in 
religion,  ideas  and  manners,  which  cuts  them  olf  from  all 
intimate  communion  with  the  people,  can  never  be  con- 
templated as  a  permanent  state  of  things.  I  conceive, 
also,  that  the  progress  of  education  among  the  Natives 
renders  such  a  scheme  impracticable,  even  if  it  were  other- 
wise free  from  objection. 


396  HOW    INDIA    WEOUaHT    FOE    FREEDOM 

"  Every  thinking  man/^  added  Sir  Henry,  "  must 
know  that  these  words  are  true,"  and  the  connection 
between  India  and  England  would  last.  Lord 
Cromer  had  said  the  same,  and  had  declared  that  the 
Government  must  adapt  their  system  to  the  changes 
taking  place  in  educated  Indians,  "  if  they  do  not 
wish  to  see  it  shattered  by  forces  which  they  have 
themselves  called  into  being,  but  which  they  have 
failed  to  guide  and  control  ".  Sir  Henry  bade  his 
hearers  avoid  depression,  and  not  to  submit  with 
resignation  to  the  policy  of  the  Government, 
and  he  held  up,  as  the  ideal,  India  taking 
rank  as  a  Nation  among  the  Nations  of  the 
East.  Autonomy  is  the  key-note  of  England's  true  re- 
lations with  her  Colonies,  and  "  the  key-note  also  of 
India's  destiny ".  "  Complete  autonomous  States 
which  are  federated  together  and  attached  by  com- 
mon motives  and  self-interest  to  a  central  Power," 
such  was  "  the  tendency  of  Empire  ".  The  ideal  for 
India  was  "  a  Federation  of  free  and  separate  States, 
the  United  States  of  India  ". 

The  President  then  dealt  with  the  economic  prob- 
lem, condemned  the  "  drain  "  and  the  exploitation 
of  the  country  by  English  capital,  urged  the  sub- 
stitution of  Indian  for  European  officials,  and  the 
reconstitution  of  the  Indian  Civil  Service,  with 
other  special  reforms,  protested  against  the  Partition 
of  Bengal,  and  the  treatment  of  Indians  in  the 
Transvaal,  and  concluded  by  bidding  his  hearers 
labour  with  hope  and  courage  in  the  cause  they 
had  embraced. 


THE    TWENTIETH    CONGRESS  397 

The  strong  and  outspoken  discourse  aroused  the 
greatest  enthusiasm^  and  was  closed  amid  vociferous 
applause.  The  Subjects  Committee  was  approved, 
and  the  Congress  adjourned. 

On  the  second  day,  Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji 
brought  forward  Resolution  I,  which  dealt  with 
Indians  in  the  Public  Service,  saying  that  it  was 
extraordinary  that,  150  years  after  the  birth  of  British 
rule  in  India,  they  should  be  obliged  to  protest 
against  a  policy  "  inconsistent  with  the  great  tradi- 
tions of  the  British  rule  in  the  East,  and  with  the 
honour  of  the  British  name  in  this  country  ".  The 
promises  made  had  only  been  eluded  until  now,  but 
by  Lord  Curzon's  Resolution  of  24th  May,  1904,  they 
were  openly  repudiated,  and,  by  a  bitter  irony,  on  the 
birthday  of  the  Queen,  whose  Proclamation  was  set 
at  naught.  "  Under  the  new  policy,  race  is  the  test 
of  qualification.  Under  the  old  policy,  merit  was  the 
test  of  qualification."  The  reactionary  policy  of  Lord 
Curzon  tore  up  the  Proclamation  of  the  Queen. 

Lord  Curzon  from  his  place  in  the  Imperial  Council 
(1  am  quoting  the  substance  of  what  he  said),  declared 
that  by  our  environments,  our  heritao'e  and  our  up-bring- 
ing we  ai'e  unequal  to  the  responsibilities  of  a  high  office 
under  tlie  British  rule.  I  venture  to  say.  Sir,  that  never 
was  a  deeper  affront  offered  to  the  people  of  India  by 
the  representative  of  the  Sovereign.  It  is  bad  enough  to 
repudiate  the  Proclamation,  but  it  is  adding  insult  to 
injury  to  cast  a  slur  upon  the  people  of  this  country.  In 
your  name  and  on  your  behalf.  Gentlemen,  I  desire  to 
record  my  most  emphatic  protest  against  this  assumption 
of  our  racial  inferiority.  Are  Asiatics  inferior  to 
Europeans  ?  Let  Japan  answer.  Are  Indians  inferior  to 
Europeans  ?    Let   Lord     George    Hamilton   answer,    and 


398  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Lord  George  Hamilton  is  not  a  friend  of  the  people  of 
this  country.  Gentlemen,  are  we  the  representatives  of 
an  inferior  race,  we,  who  are  the  descendants  of  those 
who,  in  the  modern  world,  while  all  Europe  was  steeped 
in  superstition  and  ignorance,  held  aloft  the  torch  of 
civilisation  ?  Are  we  the  representatives  of  an  inferior 
race,  from  whose  shores,  forsooth,  went  forth  those 
missionaries  who  have  converted  two-thirds  of  the  human 
race  into  moral  superiority  ? 

Mr.  Bannerji  then  gave  a  number  of  figures, 
showing  the  percentage  of  Indians  in  the  Service, 
pointed  to  the  fact  that  they  had  14  per  cent  of  em- 
ployments carrying  Rs.  1,000  and  upwards,  and  17 
per  cent  of  employments  carrying  Rs.  500  and  up- 
wards. "  Only  14  or  17  per  cent  of  the  higher 
appointments  fall  to  our  lot,  although  the  country  is 
ours,  the  money  is  ours,  and  the  bulk  of  the  population 
is  ours."  Then  followed  some  stinging  comparisons 
between  the  position  of  Asiatics  in  India  and  in  other 
countries  under  white  rule,  and  he  once  more  appealed 
to  the  pledges  given  in  the  Proclamation  of  the 
Queen. 

Mr.  G.  Subramania  Iyer  seconded,  and  remarked 
that  Indians  were  Avorse  off  than  in  1833,  and  that 
while  Lord  Lytton  broke  the  Queen's  promises  by 
what  he  called  "subterfuges,"  Lord  Curzon  openly 
said  that  the  principles  and  policy  of  British  rule  in 
India  were  not  those  laid  down  in  the  Queen's  Pro- 
clamation of  1858.  We  must  hold  to  the  liberties 
and  ]3rivileges  conferred  on  us  by  statute  also,  and 
"  hold  them  in  such  a  way  that  not  only  the  English 
Nation  but  the  whole  world  will  say  that  India 
should  be  free  ". 


THE    TWENTIETH    CONGEESS  399 

In  supporting  the  Resolution,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Krish- 
nan  Nair  gave  a  historical  sketch,  showing  how 
much  more  equal  was  the  treatment  of  Indians  in  the 
past  than  under  Lord  Curzon.  Mr.  Gr.  Abdul  Kasim 
spoke  on  Muhammadan  agreement.  Mr.  Hussain 
Badruddin  Tyabji  brought  more  statistics  proving  the 
injustice  under  which  Indians  suffered.  The  Resolu- 
tion was  then  carried. 

Resolution  II  urged  the  claims  of  Higher  Education 
and  thanked  the  Government  for  aiding  Primary 
Education.  India  needed  manual  training  and  the  esta- 
blishment of  Polytechnics.  Mr.  D.  G.  Padhya  moved 
it,  and  Mr.  R.  P.  Karandikar  seconded,  pointing  to  the 
splendid  example  set  by  Japan..  He  pressed  the  need  for 
agricultural  training,  and  quoted  Mr.  Arthur  Balfour's 
speech  on  Ireland,  pointing  out  how  '^one  by  one 
each  of  lier  nascent  industries  was  either  strangled 
at  its  birth  or  handed  over  gagged  and  bound  to  the 
jealous  custody  of  the  rival  interest  in  England,  until 
at  last  every  fountain  of  wealth  was  hermetically 
sealed,"  so  that  the  whole  Nation  threw  itself  on  the 
land.  Dr.  H.  S.  Gour  followed,  condemning  the 
Universities  Act,  which  sealed  up  the  portals  of 
knowledge  "  with  golden  locks  which  would  open 
only  to  golden  keys  ".  Lord  Curzon  would  "  make  edu- 
cation the  privilege  of  the  rich  and  not  the  birthi'ight 
of  the  poor  ".  We  are  told  that  an  oriental  people 
should  be  governed  in  the  oriental  way,  but  if  so, 
oriental  Kings  gave  education  free. 

Mr.  C.  Y.  Chintamani  said  that  Lord  Curzon  asked 
us  to    consider    education    apart    from    political    and 


400  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

other  questions,  but  that  was  impossible,  for,  as 
Mr.  Morley  had  said,  the  questions  of  education 
"  touch  the  moral  life  and  death  of  Nations  ".  Lord 
Curzon's  educational  measures  were  political,  and  he 
was  swayed  in  them  mainly  by  political  considerations. 
A  section  of  educated  Indians  was  found  inconvenient, 
and  the}"  were  to  be  politely  suppressed.  The  Govern- 
ment sent  out  circulars  introducing  the  new  policy 
by  instalments  while  the  public  were  discussing  the 
Report  and  they  believed  it  to  be  under  consideration. 
The  Senates,  now  the  Act  was  passed,  had  been 
Europeanised  and  officialised,  and  under  the  word 
"  efficiency  "  the  Indian  and  non-official  element  was 
suppressed.  Mr.  G.  A.  Natesan  complained  of  the 
"  policy  of  distrust  and  retrogression,"  and  gave 
fi.gures  to  show  that  in  five  years  6,223  graduates  had 
been  produced,  1,242  a  year  out  of  a  population  of 
800  millions  !     The  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  III,  on  the  "  deplorable  poverty  of  the 
people "  and  suggesting  remedies,  was  moved  by 
Mr.  R.  N.  Mudholkar,  who  compared  the  state  of  the 
people,  "  on  the  whole  sound,"  with  the  necessaries 
and  comforts  of  life,  and  exporting  a  large  amount  of 
merchandise,  "  when  there  was  nothing  but  anarchy 
and  misrule  in  tliis  land,"  with  the  present  poverty, 
where  the  liigliest  figure,  Jjord  Curzon's,  was  Rs  30 
per  head  per  year,  or  one  and  a  half  annas  (lid.)  a 
day,  out  of  which  Rs.  3i  was  paid  in  taxation.  He 
showed  how  Indian  manufactures  had  been  killed  by 
the  East  India  Company  and  the  Government  by 
prohibitive   duties,  and  the  industrial  population  was 


THE    TWENTIETH    CONGRESS  4'01 

forced  on  to  the  land,  making  ag'riculture  the  staple 
industry.  He  then  dealt  with  land  assessment,  with 
the  efforts  to  introduce  the  mill  industries,  and  the 
action  of  Lord  Salisbury,  who  "  directed  that  steps 
should  be  taken  to  protect  the  British  manufacturers 
against  the  competition  of  the  Indian  manufacturers  ". 
The  result  of  the  whole  policy  was  the  poverty  of  the 
Indian  masses. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  L.  A.  Govindaraghava  Iyer  seconded 
the  Resolution,  dealing  with  the  necessity  for 
Permanent  Settlement  and  for  a  judicial  check  on 
taxation  of  improvements  made  by  the  ryot.  The 
Resolution  was  supported  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Gr.  K. 
Parekh,  Messrs.  R.  V.  Mahajani,  K.  Natarajan, 
Maneckji  K.  Patel,  and  carried. 

Resolution  ly,  in  view  of  the  alarming  indebtedness 
of  the  peasantry,  repeated  the  request  of  the  previous 
Congress  for  an  enquiry  into  the  condition  of  a  few 
typical  villages.  It  was  moved  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  H.  S. 
Dixit,  seconded  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Y.  C.  Desika- 
chari,  supported  by  Rai  Parvatishankar  Choudhuri, 
Dr.  Joseph  Benjamin,  and  carried. 

Resolution  V  brought  up  once  more  the  condition 
of  Indians  in  the  Colonies,  and  Messrs.  Madanjit 
and  Baroacha  told  the  oft-repeated  story  of  South 
African  sufferings,  from  their  own  experiences,  and 
Dr.  Munji,  from  his  experience  as  a  Civil  Surgeon  in 
the  Boer  War,  added  his  testimony.  The  carrying  of 
the  Resolution  closed  the  second  day's  work. 

On  the  third  day,  the  President  moved  from  the 
Chair  Resolution  VI,  expressing  the  sorrow  of  the 
32 


402  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Congress  for  the  deaths  of  Mr.  J.  N.  Tata  and  of 
that  true  friend  of  India,  William  Digby.  He  then 
called  on  Sir  William  Wedderburn  to  move  an 
important  Resolution  (No.  XV)  out  of  its  order, 
desiring  that  as  a  General  Election  was  approach- 
ing in  England  a  deputation  should  be  sent  from 
India  to  bring  the  claims  of  India  before  the  electors 
and  the  candidates.  He  urged  two  special  points  as 
of  primary  importance  :  the  revival  of  the  old  custom 
of  an  enquiry  into  the  state  of  India  every  20  years, 
and  the  placing  of  the  salary  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  for  India  on  the  British  Estimates,  Mr.  B.  G. 
Tilak  seconded,  and  urged  that  an  agitation  must  be 
made  in  England,  for  there  the  judges  sit  who  would 
decide  our  case,  and  as  the  Government  of  India  was 
impervious,  they  must  reach  the  English  people,  and 
there  should  be  a  permanent  political  mission  in 
England.  Mr.  S.  Sinha,  in  supporting,  laid  stress  upon 
the  importance  of  the  English  becoming  personally 
acquainted  with  Indians.     The  Resolution  was  carried. 

Sir  Balchandra  Krishna  moved  the  seventh  Re- 
solution, asking  that  the  cost  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  for  India  should  be  ])laced  on  the  British 
Estimates.  1'he  Colonies  had  their  Secretary  and 
their  oHice  free  ;  India  paid  nearly  34  lakhs  of  rupees 
for  hers.  The  Hon.  Mr.  G.  Srinivasa  Rao  seconded, 
Mr.  M.  K.  Padliya  supported;  he  urged  that  the 
Secretary  of  State  was  responsible  to  no  one — not  to 
the  Indian  people  who  ])aid  liiin,  not  to  the  House 
of  Commons  because  it  did  not  pay  him.  The  Resolu- 
tion was  carried. 


THE    TWENTIETH    CONGRESS  403 

Resolution  VIII  dealt  with  the  artificial  surpluses, 
raised  largely  by  the  appreciation  of  the  rupee,  and 
urged  reduction  of  taxation  and  the  devotion  of  part 
of  the  accumulated  funds  to  Education,  Medical 
Relief,  and  the  helping  of  Local  and  Municipal 
Boards.  It  was  moved  by  Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale,  who 
remarked  on  the  extraordinary  surpluses  during  the 
last  six  years,  amounting  to  30  crores  of  rupees,  and 
asked  how  these  arose.  He  showed  that  they  arose 
from  the  value  of  the  rupee  being  enhanced,  so 
that  raising  the  money  Avanted  for  the  foreign 
charges  in  silver  and  paying  in  gold,  the  Indian 
Government  saved  some  5  crores  of  rupees  a  year. 
The  high  level  of  taxation  was  unfair  and  should  be 
lowered,  and  the  money  gained  by  over-taxation 
returned  to  the  people  on  the  lines  suggested.  Dewan 
Bahadur  Ambalal  Sakarlal  Desai  seconded,  and 
pressed  the  return  of  the  needlessly  high  surpluses 
to  the  people.  Mr.  G.  Subramania  Iyer  follow- 
ed and  remarked  that  Sir  Antony  MacDonnell 
had  said  before  the  Currency  Committee  that  the 
enhancement  of  the  value  of  the  rupee  would  be  a 
new  burden  on  the  people,  but  he  said  that  it  was  safe 
to  add  it,  because  the  people  of  India  did  not  know  it 
would  operate  in  that  way,  while  an  addition  to 
direct  taxation  was  dangerous  and  impolitic.  The 
poor  who  have  suffered  most  by  the  forced  apprecia- 
tion should  benefit  by  the  surpluses  created.  The 
Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  IX  claimed  enlarged  representation,  and 
was     moved    by     Mr.    V.    Krishnaswami   Iyer,    who 


404  HOW    IKDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

referred  to  the  enlargement  of  the  Councils  in  1892, 
and  the  power  then  given  to  discuss  the  Budget ;  but 
the  Budget  having  been  settled  before  the  discussion, 
the  members  had  only  to  state  their  opinions  and  read 
their  little  essays,  the  discussion  being  a  farce.  Pandit 
Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  seconded,  and  said  the 
reforms  were  good  as  far  as  they  went,  but  more 
power  should  be  given  to  the  Councils  and  they 
should  be  enlarged.  Would  not  the  Government 
show  a  little  more  trust  in  the  Indian  people  ?  "  We 
have  our  minds  imbued  with  the  ideas  of  freedom 
through  a  body  of  English  literature  ....  In  our 
own  country  we  are  anxious  to  feel  that  we  are 
really  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  great  British  Empire 
which  we  love  because  of  its  love  of  freedom." 
Mr.  Jehangir  B.  Petit  followed,  pointing  out  that 
educated  Indians  had  shown  themselves  worthy  of 
fuller  representation  and  power,  enumerating  the 
results,  beneficial  to  the  country,  that  they  had 
brought  about.  They  had  justified  themselves  by 
their  achievements.  It  would  be  a  proud  day  for 
England  Avhen  she  gave  to  India  "the  inestimable 
boon  of  Self-Government,  to  which  all  human  beings 
have  a  birth-right  and  which  is  long  overdue  ".  Tlie 
Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  X  was  on  Tibetan  affairs  and  the 
Forward  Policy,  that  fruitful  source  of  waste  of  life 
and  treasure.  It  was  moved  by  Mr.  N.  A.  Wadia, 
who  remarked  that  they  were  struggling  '•'  to  main- 
tain the  small  modicum  of  constitutional  privilege 
conceded   by  Parliament  nearly  50  years  ago  ".     He 


THE    TWENTIETH    CONGEESS  405 

condemned  the  policy  whicli  went  beyond  the  Indian 
borders  :  the  brave  peasants  of  Tibet  fought  for  the 
freedom  of  their  soil  from  the  foot  of  the  foreigner, 
"  with  a  patriotism  as  pure,  with  love  of  independence 
as  tenacious,  with  contempt  for  danger  and  for  death 
as  admirable  as  any  recorded  in  ancient  or  modern 
annals  ".  The  speaker  proceeded  with  a  powerfully 
reasoned  argument  against  Lord  Curzon's  mischievous 
missions,  and  urged  that  the  employment  of  Indian 
troops  outside  India  without  the  consent  of  Parlia- 
ment was  illegal. 

Lala  Murlidhar  seconded,  Mr.  N,  B.  Ranade 
supported,  and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Police  Reform  came  up  once  more  in  Resolution 
XI,  and  was  moved  by  Mr.  Vijayakumar  Bose, 
seconded  by  Mr.  Sris  Chandra  Sarbadhikari,  supported 
by  Mr.  V.  G.  Joshi,  and  carried. 

Resolution  XII  on  Military  Expenditure  was  very 
briefly  moved  and  seconded  by  Messrs.  N.  M.  Samarth, 
and  G.  R.  Abhyankar,  and  carried.  Then  followed 
the  separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive  functions 
as  Resolution  XIII,  moved,  seconded  and  sup- 
ported by  Messrs.  Harischandra  Rai  Vishandas, 
N.  K.  Ramaswami  Iyer,  and  Kaliprasanna  Roy,  and 
carried. 

Resolution  XIV,  on  the  Partition  of  Bengal,  was 
moved  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Ambikacharan  Mozumdar, 
seconded  by  Mr.  A.  Choudhuri,  and  supported  by 
Mr.  Binai  Kumar  Rai,  and  the  Hon.  Baikunthanath 
Sen,  Bengali  gentlemen,  who  all  felt  too  strongly  to 
do   more  than  speak  a  few  sentences.     It  was  carried 


406  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOE    FREEDOM 

after  a  brief  expression  of  sympathy  from  Mr.  R.  N. 
Mudholkar  . 

Mr.  S.  Sinha  moved  Resolution  XVI,  urging  the 
election  to  Parliament  of  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji,  Sir 
Henry  Cotton  and  Mr.  John  Jardine  in  the  interests  of 
India.  Mr.  V.  P.  Vaidya  seconded  and  it  was  carried. 

Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  moved,  and  the  Hon.  Mr.  D.  N. 
Bose  seconded  Resolution  XVI,  the  annual  vote  of 
thanks  to  Sir  William  Wedderburn  and  the  British 
Committee.  The  President  then  moved  Resolution 
XVIII  re-appointing  Mr.  A.  0.  Hume,  Mr.  D.  E. 
Wacha,  and  the  Hon.  Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale  as  General 
and  Joint  General  Secretaries.  He  also  moved  Re- 
solution XIX,  appointing  a  Committee  to  report  by 
the  1st  of  July,  1905,  on  the  question  of  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Congress.  Resolution  XX  fixed 
Benares  for  the  Congress  of  1905.  Resolutions  XXI 
and  XXII  thanked  the  Reception  Committee  and  the 
President,  and  Sir  Henry  Cotton,  answering  with  a 
few  words  of  grateful  thanks,  brought  the  Twentieth 
National  Congress  to  an  end. 

RESOLUTIONS 

Employ rrent  of  Indians  in  the  Public  Service 

I.  (ft)  Tliiit  ill  the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  tlie  principles  and 
j)olicy  enunciated  by  the  (lOvcrnment  of  India  in  their  Resolution, 
dated  24tli  May  190-4,  on  the  subject  of  the  employment  of  Indians 
in  the  higher  grades  of  the  Public  Service,  are  inconsistent  with 
those  laid  down  in  the  Parliamentary  Statute  of  1833  and  the 
Proclamation  of  1858  by  the  late  Queen-Empress,  and  this 
Congress  enters  its  res])ectful  but  emphatic  protest  against  an 
attempt  to  explain  away  pledges  sole tiinl^' given  by  the  Sovereign 
and  Parliament  to  the  jieople  of  this  country,  and  to  deviate  from 
arrangements  deliberately  arrived  at  by  the  Government  after  a 
careful   examination  of  the  whole  question  by  a  Public  Commission. 


THE    TWENTIETH    CONGRESS  407 

{b)  That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  true  remedy  for 
many  existing  financial  and  administrative  evils  lies  in  the  wider 
employment  of  Indians  in  the  higher  branches  of  the  country's 
service  ;  and  while  concurring  with  previous  Congresses  in  urging 
that  immediate  eifect  should  be  given;  to  the  Resolution  of  the 
House  of  Commons  of  2nd  Jime,  1893,  in  favour  of  holding  the 
competitive  examinations  for  service  in  India  simultaneously  in 
England  and  in  India,  this  Congress  places  on  record  its  firm 
conviction  that  the  only  satisfactory  solution  of  this  question  is  to 
be  found  in  the  reorganisation  of  the  Indian  Civil  Service,  which 
should  be  reconstituted  on  a  decentralised  basis,  its,  judicial 
functions  in  the  meantime  being  partly  transfei-red  to  persons  who 
have  been  trained  in  the  profession  of  haw. 

(c)  That  this  Congress  deplores  the  abolition  of  the 
competitive  test  for  the  Provincial  Service  in  most  Provinces  of 
India.  Past  experience  has  amply  established  the  fact  that  a 
system  of  Government  nomination  degenerates,  in  the  special 
circumstances  of  this  country,  into  a  system  of  appointment  by 
ofHcial  favour,  and  this,  by  bringing  iinfit  men  into  the  Service, 
impairs  the  efficiency  of  the  administration,  and  in  addition 
unfairly  discredits  the  fitness  of  Indians  for  high  office.  This 
Congress,  therefore,  respectfully  urges  the  Government  of  India  to 
restore  the  competitive  test  for  the  Provincial  Service,  wherever 
it  has  been  abolished. 

Education 

II.  That  this  Congress,  while  thanking  the  Government  of 
India  for  the  increased  outlay  on  Primary  Education,  promised  in 
their  Resolution  of  March  last,  and  for  the  institution  of  ten 
Technical  scholarships  for  the  study  of  technical  arts  and 
industries  in  foreign  countries,  repeats  its  protest  of  last  year 
against  the  retrograde  policy  adopted  by  Government  in  regard  to 
Higher  Education,  as  calculated  to  officialise  the  governing  bodies 
of  the  Universities  and  to  restrict  the  scope  of  University  Education 
generally  ;  and  the  Congress  places  on  record  its  emphatic  opinion 
that  in  view  of  the  large  surpluses  which  the  Government  are  now 
realising  year  after  j^ear,  it  is  their  clear  duty  to  make  a  much 
larger  allotment  than  at  present  out  of  public  funds  for  educational 
expenditure  so  as 

(«)  to  spread  primary  education  more  widely  among  the 
mass  of  the  people,  and  to  make  a  beginning  in  the  direction  of  free 
and  compulsory  education  ; 

(b)  to  make  due  provision  for  im2Darting  instruction  in  manual 
training  and  in  scientific  agriculture  ; 

(c)  to  provide  for  the  better  manning  and  equipment  of 
Government  Colleges  and  High  Schools  so  as  to  make  them  really 
model  institutions  ; 


408  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

(d)  to  establish  at  least  one  central  fully-equipped 
Polytechnic  Institute  in  the  country,  with  minor  Technical  Schools 
and  Colleges  in  different  Provinces. 

Economic    Situation 

III.  That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  deplorable 
poverty  of  the  people  of  this  country  is  mainly  due  to  the  drain  of 
M^ealth  from  the  country  that  has  gone  on  for  years,  to  the  docaj^ 
of  indigenous  arts  and  industries,  to  over-assessment  of  land,  and  to 
the  excessively  costly  character  of  the  system  of  administration. 
And  the  Congress  recommends  the  following  among  other  remedial 
measures  : 

(a)  That  Government  be  pleased  to  afford  greatei 
encouragements  to  education,  as  indicated  in  the  pi-evious  resolution. 

(h)  That  the  Permanent  Settlement  be  extended  to  such 
parts  of  tlie  country  as  are  now  ripe  for  it,  in  accordance  with  the 
conditions  laid  down  in  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India's  Des- 
patches of  1862  and  1867  on  the  subject;  and  that  M'here  Govern- 
ment may  still  deem  it  inadvisable  to  introduce  the  Permanent 
Settlement,  judicial  restrictions  be  imposed  on  over-assessment. 

(c)  That  steps  be  taken  to  employ  a  much  larger  number  of 
Indians  in  the  higher  branches  of  the  Public  Service. 

Indebtedness   of  the  Peasantry 

IV.  Resolved  — That  in  view  of  the  alarming  indebtedness  of 
the  peasantry  of  the  country  and  of  the  fact  that  large  numbers  of 
them  are  forced  to  throw  themselves  on  State  help  at  the  first 
touch  of  scarcitj^  this  Congress  again  earnestly  endorses  the 
suggestion  put  forward  by  the  Famine  Union  in  London  that  a 
careful  inquiry  be  directed  by  Govemnient  iTito  the  condition  of  a 
few  typical  villages  in  different  parts  of  India. 

Indian  Bmigrants  to  British  Colonies 

V.  (a)  That  the  Congress,  while  noting  with  satisfaction  the 
relaxation  of  restrictions  recently  ordered  by  the  Government  of 
the  Australian  Commonwealth  in  the  case  of  Indian  visitors  to 
Australia,  ])laces  on  record  its  deep  regret  that  Indian  Settlers — 
subjects  of  His  Majesty  the  King-Emperor— -should  continue  to  be 
subjected  to  harassing  restrictions  and  denied  the  ordinary  rights 
of  British  citizenship  in  His  Majesty's  Colonies. 

(h)  In  particular,  this  Congress  records  its  most  emphatic 
protest  against  the  threatened  enforcement,  in  an  aggravated  form, 
of  the  anti-Indian  legislation  of  the  late  Boer  Government  of  the 
Transvaal  by  the  British  Government.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  one 
of  the  declared  causes  of  the  recent  Boer  War  was  the  treatment 
meted   out   to   the    Indian    subjects   of   the   King-Emperor  by  the 


THE    TWENTIETH    CONGRESS  409 

Govei'nment  of  that  Republic,  and  in  view  also  of  the  admitted 
loyalty  of  Indian  Settlers  in  South  Africa  and  the  great  help 
rendered  by  them  during  the  War,  this  Congress  fervently  prays 
that  the  British  Parliament  will  insist  on  a  just  and  equal  treatment 
being  secured  to  Indian  settlers  in  that  Crown  Colony. 

(c)  In  this  connection  the  Congress  tenders  its  sincere 
thanks  to  the  Government  of  India  and  the  Secretary  of  State  for 
India  for  their  firm  stand  in  the  interests  of  Indian  emigrants,  and 
the  Congress  earnestly  trusts  that  they  will  not  relax  their  efforts 
in  the  matter  till  a  satisfactory  solution  is  reached. 

Deaths  of  Mr.  J,  N.  Tata  and  Mr.  W.  Digby 

VI.  That  this  Congress  places  on  record  its  sense  of  profound 
sorrow  at  the  death  of  Mr.  J.  N.  Tata,  whose  great  services  to  the 
industrial  development  of  India  ns  also  his  enlightened  philan- 
thropy and  patriotism  the  country  will  gratefully  reniember. 
This  Congress  also  i-ecords  its  deep  grief  at  the  death  of 
Mr.  William  Digby,  in  whom  the  people  of  India  liave  lost  an 
earnest  and  devoted  champion  of  their  cause. 

Secretary  of  State's  Salary 

VII.  That  this  Congress,  while  protesting  against  the  injustice 
of  charging  the  cost  of  the  India  Office  in  London  to  the  revenues 
of  this  countrj^  when  the  Colonies  are  exempted  from  any  share  of 
the  cost  of  the  Colonial  Office,  places  on  record  its  opinion  that  the 
whole  of  tho  salary  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India  should  be 
borne  on  the  English  Estimates. 

Surpluses 

VIII.  (a)  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  the  large  and 
recurring  surpluses  of  the  last  six  years — amounting  in  all  to  about 
twenty  millions  sterling — so  far  from  being  the  result  of  any 
increased  pi-osperity  of  the  people,  ai-e  only  an  indication  of  the 
fact  that  the  level  of  taxation  in  the  country  is  maintained  much 
higher  than  is  necessary',  inasmuch  hs  these  surpluses  have  been 
rendered  possible  mainly,  if  not  exclusively,  by  the  artificial 
appreciation  of  the  rupee,  and  the  consequent  saving  of  between 
three  and  four  millions  a  year  on  the  Home  remittances  of  the 
Government  of  India. 

(h)  That  both  for  the  sake  of  giving  relief  to  the  classes  which 
have  suffered  most  from  the  currency  policy  of  the  Government  and 
to  remove  from  the  path  of  Government  a  direct  teniistatiou  to  in- 
crease expenditure,  which  the  existence  of  large  surpluses  year  after 
year  undoubtedly  constitutes,  this  Congress  strongly  urges  (1)  a 
further  reduction  in  the  salt  duty;  (2)  a  reduction  in  the  land  revenue 
demand  of  the   State  in  those   Provinces  where  the  agriculturists 


410  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

have   had  a  series  of  calamitous  years  ;  and  (3)  tlio  abolition  of  the 
excise  duties  on  cotton  goods. 

(c)  That  till  such  reduction  is  effected,  the  Congress  urges 
that  part  of  the  surpluses  be  devoted  to  purposes  which  would 
directly  benefit  the  people,  such  as  the  promotion  of  scientific, 
agricultural,  and  industrial  education,  and  increased  facilities  of 
Medical  relief,  and  that  the  rest  be  employed  in  assisting  Local  and 
Municipal  Boards,  whose  i-esources  have  been  seriously  crippled  by 
famine  and  by  the  annual  recurrence  of  plague,  to  undertake 
urgently-needed  measures  of  sanitary  reform  and  the  improvement 
of  means  of  communication  in  the  interior. 

Representation 

IX.  That  in  the  opinion  of  the  Congress,  the  time  has  arrived 
when  the  people  of  this  country  should  be  allowed  a  larger  voice  in 
the  administration  and  control  of  the  affair  of  their  country  by 

(a)  The  bestowal  on  each  Province  or  Presidency  of  India  of 
the  franchise  to  return  at  least  two  members  to  the  English  House 
of  Commons. 

(6)  An  enlargement  of  both  the  Supreme  and  Provincial 
Legislative  Councils — increasing  the  number  of  non-otticial 
members  therein,  and  giving  them  the  right  to  divide  the  Council 
in  all  financial  matters  coming  before  tliem—  the  Head  of  the 
Government  concerned  possessing  the   power  of  veto. 

(c)  The  appointment  of  Indian  re])resentatives  (who  shall  be 
nominated  by  the  elected  members  of  the  Legislative  Councils)  as 
Members  of  the  India  Council  in  London  and  of  the  Executive 
Councils  of  the  Government  of  India  and  the  Governments  of 
Bombay  and  Madras. 

Tibetan  Affairs  and  For-w^rd  Policy 

X.  That  this  Congress  expresses  its  profound  regret  that  in 
the  case  of  the  recent  Tibetan  Expedition  the  object  of  the  Act  of 
1858,  in  providing  that  India's  revenues  shall  not  be  spent  outside 
the  Statutory  limits  of  India,  except  to  repel  foreign  aggression, 
without  the  previous  sanction  of  Parliament,  was  frustrated  in 
practice  by  the  Government  continuing  to  describe  the  Expedition 
as  a  "  Political  Mission,"  till  it  was  no  longer  possible  for  Parlia- 
ment to  withhold  its  sanction  to  the  required  expenditure,  and  tliat 
Indian  revenues  wei-c  thus  unjustifiably  deprived  of  the  protection 
constitutionally  secured  to  them.  This  Congress  further  ])laces  on 
record  its  regret  that  the  House  of  Commons  refused  to  contribute 
from  the  Imperial  Exchequer  even  a  portion  of  the  cost  of  that 
Expedition,  when  it  was  in  furtherance  of  Imperial  interests  and  to 
carry  out  an  Imperial  policy  that  the  Expedition  had  been 
undertaken. 


THE    TWENTIETH    CONGRESS  411 

The  Congress  protests  strongly  against  this  injustice  and  all 
the  more  because  it  apprehends  that  the  Tibetan  Expedition  was 
but  part  of  a  general  forward  policy,  which,  with  the  Missions  to 
Afghanistan  and  Persia,  threatens  to  involve  India  in  foreign 
entanglements,  which  cannot  fail  to  place  an  intolerable  burden  on 
the  Indian  revenues  and  prove  in  the  end  disastrous  to  the  best 
interests  of  the  country. 

Police  Reform 

XI.  This  Congress  places  on  record  its  deep  regret  that  the 
Report  of  the  Police  Commission  has  still  been  withheld  by  the 
Government  from  the  public,  though  it  is  now  two  years  since  the 
Commission  reported,  and  though  portions  of  it  have  found  their 
waj  into  the  colunins  of  papers  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Official 
Secrets'  Act. 

In  view  of  the  great  urgency  of  a  thorough  reform  of  the  Police 
force  of  the  country,  in  view  further  of  the  large  public  interests 
involved  in  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the  question  and  the  obvious 
necessity  in  consequence  of  giving  the  public  ample  opportunity  to 
express  its  views  before  the  authorities  proceed  to  formulate  a 
scheme  of  reform,  in  view,  finally,  of  the  fact  that  all  public 
criticism  expressed  after  the  subject  has  been  considered  by  both 
the  Government  of  India  and  the  Secretar3^  of  State  for  India  is 
bound  to  be  virtually  ineifective,  this  Congress  earnestly  urges  the 
publication    of  the  Commission's  Report  without    any  further  delay. 

Military  Expenditure 

XII.  (a)  That  this  Congress  regards  with  grave  alarm  the 
heavy  and  continuous  increase  that  has  been  taking  place  year  after 
year  in  the  Military  burdens  of  the  country  and  that  in  the  opinion  of 
this  Congress  the  present  Military  Expenditure  of  India  is  beyond 
her  capacity  to  bear. 

(b)  That  the  Congress  can  only  contemplate  with  dismay  all 
further  proposals  to  throw  fresh  burdens  on  the  revenues  of  India 
in  connection  with  Army  expenditure,  and  it  enters  its  earnest 
protest  against  throwing  the  cost  of  the  pi-oposed  Army  reorganisa- 
tion scheme  of  Lord  Kitchener  on  the  Indian  Exchequer. 

(c)  That  as  the  strength  of  the  Army  maintained  in  India 
and  the  measui-es  that  are  froin  time  to  time  adopted  to  improve 
its  efficiency  are  determined,  not  by  a  consideration  of  the  military 
needs  and  requirements  of  India,  but  for  upholding  British 
Supremacy  in  the  East,  as  moreover,  large  bodies  of  British  troops 
have,  in  recent  years,  been  temporarily  withdrawn,  with  perfect 
safety  and  without  imperilling  the  peace  of  the  country,  for  service 
outside  the  statutory  limits  of  India,  this  Congress  is  of  opinion 
that  the  time  has  come  when  the  British  Parliament  should  seriously 


412  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    TOR    FREEDOM 

consider  the  justice  and  policy  of  making  a  sal)stantial  contribution 
towards  Army  Charges  in  India. 

Separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive  Functions    • 

XIII.  That  this  Congress,  concurring  with  previous  Congresses, 
appeals  to  the  Government  of  India  and  the  Secretary  of  State  not 
to  delay  any  longer  the  Separation  of  Executive  and  Judicial 
Functions  in  the  administration  of  Criminal  Justice,  the  desirability 
of  which  has  been  frequently  admitted  by  Government  and  the 
practicability  of  effecting  which  with  a  very  inappreciable  increase 
of  expenditui'e,  if  any,  has  been  repeatedly  shown. 

The  Partition  of  Bengal 

XIV.  That  this  Congress  records  its  emphatic  protest  against 
the  proposals  of  the  Government  of  India,  for  the  Partition  of  Bengal 
in  any  manner  whatsoever.  That  the  pi'oposals  are  viewed  with 
great  alarm  by  the  people,  as  tlie  division  of  the  Bengali  Nation 
into  sejjarate  units  will  seriously  interfere  with  its  social,  intellectual 
and  material  ]:)rogress,  involving  the  loss  of  v^arious  constitutional, 
and  other  rights  and  privileges  which  the  Province  has  so  long 
enjoyed  and  will  burden  the  country  with  heavy  expenditure  which 
the  Indian  tax-payers  cannot  at  all  afford. 

The  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  no  case  has  been  made  out  for 
the  Partition  of  Bengal,  but  if  the  present  constitution  of  the  Bengal 
Government  is  considered  inadequate  for  the  efficient  administra- 
ti(m  of  the  Province,  the  remedy  lies  not  in  any  redistribution  of 
its  tei'ritories,  but  in  organic  changes  in  the  form  of  the  Govern- 
ment, such  as  the  conversion  of  the  Lieutenant-Governorship  of 
Bengal  into  a  Governorship  with  an  Executive  Council  like  that 
of  Bombay  and  Madras. 

Delegation  to  England 

XV.  That,  looking  to  the  near  approach  of  a  General  Election 
in  England,  and  to  the  vital  importance,  at  this  crisis,  of  bringing  the 
claims  of  India  before  the  Electors,  before  the  Parliamentary 
Candidates,  and  before  the  political  leaders,  it  is  expedient  that 
the  Congress  should  depute  trustworthy  and  experienced  represent- 
atives nominatcid  by  the  different  Provinces  to  be  present  in 
England  for  this  purpose,  before  and  during  the  election ;  and  that 
a  fund  of  not  less  than  Rs.  30,000  should  be  raised  to  meet  the 
iiocossary  ex])Onses  of  such  Deputation. 

Election  cf  Members  to  the  British  Parliament 

XVI.  That  tins  Congress  desires  to  accord  its  most  cordial 
support  to  the  candidatures  of  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji  for  Nortii 
Lambeth,  Sir  Henry  Cotton  for  Nottingham,  and  Sir  John  Jardine 
for  Roxburglishire,  and  appeals  to  the  electors  of  these  constituencies 


THE    TWENTIETH    CONftRESS  413 

that  in  the  interests  of  the  people  of  India,  they  will  be  pleased  to 
return  them  to  Parliament,  so  that  they  may  not  only  loyally  serve 
them,  but  repi'esent  in  some  manner  the  people  of  a  country  which, 
though  a  part  of  the  British  Empire,  has  no  direct  representative 
in  the  British  Parliament. 

Thanks  to  the  British  Committee 

XVII.  That  this  Congress  desires  to  convey  to  Sir  William 
Wedderburn  and  the  other  members  of  the  British  Committee 
its  most  grateful  thanks  for  their  disinterested  services  in  the 
cause  of  our  political  advancement. 

And  that  a  sum  of  £700  be  assigned  for  the  expenses  of  the 
British  Committee  and  that  the  several  Congress  circles  do 
contribute  the  amount  allotted  to  each. 

Appointment  of  General  Secretary  and  Joint 
General  Secretaries 

XVIIL  That  this  Congress  reappoints  Mr.  A.  0.  Hume,  C.  B., 
to  be  General  Secretary  and  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  and  the  Hon. 
Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale  to  be  Joint  General  Secretaries  of  the  Congress 
for  the  ensuing  year. 

Constitution  of  the  Congress 

XIX.  That  the  question  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Congress  bo 
referred  for  report  to  a  Committee  consisting  of  the  following 
gentlemen  : 

Bombay :  Pan jab : 

Sir  P.M.  Mehta  •  r    ,     x    ■ 

Mr.  D.  B.  Wacha.  ^."^  ''J:''"'''^  ?'''■ 

Hon.  Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale.  f '';  Dharmadas. 

Hon.  Mr.    Ibrahim  RahimtuUa.  ^^^^  Harkishan  Lai. 

Madras:  United  Provinces- : 

Mr.  C.  Sankaran  Nair.  Babu  Gangaprasad  Varma. 

Mr.  Krishnaswami  Iyer.  Hon.      Pandit     Madf\n     Mohan 

Mr.  M.  Viraraghava  Chari.  Mal.aviya. 

Nawab  Syed  Mahomed.  ]yjj.   g^  Sinha. 

Bengal  : 

BabuSurendranath  Banuerji.        Berak  and  Central  Provinces. 
Hon.    Mr.    Ambikacharau 

Mazumdar.  Mr.  E,.  M.  Mudholkar. 

Babu  Baikunthanath  Sen.  Mr.  M.V.  Joshi. 

Mr.  Abdul  Kasim.  Mr.  M.  K.  Padhya. 

33 


414  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

The  Kext  Session  of  the  Congress 

XX.  That  the  Twenty-tirst  Indian  National  Congress  do 
assemble,  on  such  daj^  after  Christmas  Bay,  1905,  as  may  be  later 
determined  upon,  at  Benares. 

XXI.  Thanks  to  the  Eeception  Committee  and  those  who  have 
in  various  ways  assisted  it. 

Hy  the  President. 

XXII.  Thanks  to  the  President. 
President's  reply  in  closing  the  proceedings. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

In  the  sacred  City  of  Kashi,  the  modern  Benares,  the 
Twenty-first  National  Congress  gathered  together. 
Says  the  OflScial  Report  : 

The  Congress  met  at  a  great  crisis  in  the  political 
fortunes  of  this  country.  Never  since  the  dark  days  of 
Lord  Lytton's  Viceroyalty  had  India  been  so  distracted,  dis- 
contented, despondent ;  the  victim  of  so  many  misfortunes, 
political  and  other ;  the  tai'get  for  so  much  scorn  and 
calumny  emanating  from  the  highest  quarters — its  most 
moderate  demands  ridiculed  and  scouted,  its  most  reason- 
able prayers  greeted  with  a  stiff  negative,  its  noblest  aspira- 
tions spurned  and  denounced  as  pure  mischief  or  solemn 
nonsense,  its  most  cherished  ideals  hurled  down  from  their 
pedestal  and  trodden  under  foot — never  had  the  condition 
of  India  been  more  critical  than  it  was  during  the  second 
ill-starred  administration  of  Lord  Curzon.  The  Official 
Secrets  Act  was  passed  in  the  teeth  of  universal  opposi- 
tion. It  was  condemned  by  the  whole  Press — Indian  and 
Anglo-Indian — protests  from  all  quarters  poured  in,  but 
Lord  Curzon  was  implacable,  and  tlie  Gagging  Act  was 
passed.  Education  was  crippled  and  mutilated  ;  it  was 
made  expensive  and  it  was  officialised  ;  and  so  that  most 
effective  instrument  for  the  enslavement  of  our  National 
interest,  the  Indian  Universities  Act,  Avas  passed,  and  the 
policy  of  checking  if  not  altogether  undoing  the  noble 
work  of  Bentinck,  Macaulay  and  Lord  Halifax,  which  for 
more  than  half  a  century  has  been  continued  with  such 
happy  results  to  the  country,  came  in  full  swing. 


416  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

On   the   27th,   28th,    29th   and    30th  of  December, 

1905,    758    delegates    gathered  on    the  noble    cliff  of 

Rajghar,   dominating   Gangarnai's   rolling   flood,   and 

the  eye,  looking  upwards,  rested  on  the  great  curving 

bank,   the  Crescent   Moon,  crowned  with  temples  and 

stately  dwelling-places.     They  came  thither  as  follows 

from  : 

Bengal 209 

U.  P 203 

Pan  jab  (104)  and  N.  W.    F.   P.    (1)             ...  105 

C.  P.  (44),  Berar  (16)  and  Secunclerabad  (8)  64 

Bombay  (95)  and  Sindh  (16)             110 

Madras  (64)  and  Mysore  (1)              65 

Burma  ...           ...           ...           ...           ...           ...  2 


758 


(The  list  gives  757,  but  No.  606  is  repeated  in  error.) 
Munshi  Madho  Lai  was  the  Chairman  of  the 
Reception  Committee,  and  made  a  ver}^  brief  speech 
of  welcome,  asking  Pandit  Bishambharnath  to  propose 
the  President-elect.  Very  warm  were  the  words  with 
wliich  he  proposed  and  Mr.  Romesh  Chandra  Dutt 
seconded  the  Hon.  Mr.  Gopal  Krishna  Gokhale;  they 
were  followed  by  Sardar  Gurucharan  Singh,  Mr,  R.  N. 
Mudholkar  and  Mr.  G.  Subramania  Iyer,  and  then 
the  idol  of  India  took  the  Presidential  chair  amid 
resounding  cheers,  and  delivered  one  of  the  most 
notable  speeches  to  which  the  Congress  had  listened 
during  the  twenty-one  j^ears  of  its  'existence. 

Mr,  Gokhale  remarked  that  he  was  called  to  take 
charge  of  the  vessel  of  the  Congress  with  rocks 
ahead  and  angry    waves  beating  around,  and  invoked 


THE    TWENTY-FIEST    CONGRESS  417 

the  Divine  guidance.  He  then,  after  a  few  words 
of  homage  to  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales,  then 
visiting  India,  and  of  respectful  welcome  to  the  new 
Viceroy  and  Lady  Minto,  turned  to  the  administration 
of  Lord  Curzon,  just  closed.  Stern  and  scathing  was 
his  verdict  : 

Gentlemen,  how  true  it  is  that  to  everything  there  is 
an  end  !  Thus  even  the  Viceroyalty  of  Lord  Curzon  has 
come  to  a  close  !  For  seven  long  years  all  eyes  had  con- 
stantly to  turn  to  one  masterful  figure  in  the  land — now 
in  admiration,  now  in  astonishment,  more  often  in  anger 
and  in  pain,  till  at  last  it  has  become  difficult  to  realise 
that  a  change  has  really  come.  For  a  parallel  to  such  an 
administration,  we  must,  I  think,  go  back  to  the  times  of 
Aurangzebe  in  the  history  of  our  own  country.  There 
we  find  the  same  attempt  at  a  rule  excessively  centralised 
and  intensely  personal,  the  same  strenuous  purpose,  the 
same  overpowering  consciousness  of  duty,  the  same 
maiwellous  capacity  for  work,  the  same  sense  of  loneliness, 
the  same  persistence  in  a  policy  of  distrust  and  repression, 
resulting  in  bitter  exasperation  all  round.  I  think  even 
the  most  devoted  admirer  of  Lord  Curzon  cannot  claim 
that  he  has   strengthened   the  foundations  of  British  rule 

in  India To  him    India    was    a    country 

where  the  Englishman  was  to  monopolise  for  all  time 
all  power,  and  talk  all  the  while  of  duty.  The  Indian's 
only  business  was  to  be  governed,  and  it  was  a  sacrilege 
on  his  part  to  have  any  other  aspiration.  In  his  scheme 
of  things  there  was  no  room  for  the  educated  classes  of 
the  country  ;  and  having  failed  to  amuse  them  for  any 
lengtli  of  time  by  an  empty  show  of  taking  them  into  his 
confidence,  he  proceeded  in  the  end  to  repress  them. 
Even  in  his  last  farewell  speech  at  the  Byculla  Club  in 
Bombay,  India  exists  only  as  a  scene  of  the  Englishman's 
labours,  with  the  toiling  millions  of  the  country — eighty 
per  cent  of  the  population — in  the  background.  The 
remaining  twenty  per  cent,  for  aught  they  are  worth, 
might  as  well  be  gently  swept  into  the  sea  ! 


418  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Mr.  Gokhale  tore  into  shreds  the  attempt  to 
separate  the  educated  from  the  uneducated  Indians, 
and  pointed  out  that  the  suggestion  that  the  former 
were  opposed  to  the  latter  was  "  unreal  and  ridiculous," 
and  that  the  useful  measures  of  which  Lord  Curzon 
boasted  had  been  persistently  urged  by  the  Congress. 
Turning  to  the  Partition  of  Bengal,  he  denounced  it  as 
"  a  cruel  wrong,"  and  indignantly  flung  back  Lord 
Curzon's  false  assertion  that  the  agitation  was 
"  manufactured,"  declaring  that  nothing  more  intense, 
widespread  and  spontaneous  had  been  seen  in  Indian 
political  agitation.  Mentioning  the  remarkable  men 
who  had  come  forward  against  the  Partition,  he 
exclaimed  : 

If  the  opinions  of  even  such  men  are  to  be  brushed 
aside  with  contempt,  if  all  Indians  are  to  be  treated 
as  no  better  than  dumb,  driven  cattle ;  if  men,  whom 
any  other  coujitry  would  delig-ht  to  honour,  are  to 
be  thus  made  to  realise  the  utter  humiliation  and 
helplessness  of  their  position  in  their  own,  then  all 
I  can  say  is:  "Goodbye  to  all  hope  of  co-operating 
in  any  way  with  the  bui^eaucracy  in  the  interests 
of  the  people!"  I  can  conceive  of  no  graver  indict- 
ment of  British  rule  than  that  such  a  state  of  things 
should    be    possible    after  a  hiindred  years  of  that  rule ! 

The   tremendous   upheaval    of  popular  feeling 

which  has  taken  place  in  Bengal  in  consequence  of  the 
Partition,  will  constitute  a  landmark  in  the  history  of  our 
National  progress.  For  the  first  time  since  British  rule 
began,  all  sections  of  the  Indian  community,  without 
distinction  of  caste  or  creed,  have  been  m.oved  by  a 
common  impulse  and  without  the  stimulus  of  external 
pressure,  to  act  together  in  offering  resistance  to  a 
common  wrong.  A  wave  of  true  National  consciousness 
has  swept  over  the  Province  and,  at  its  touch,  old  barriers 
have,  for  the  time  at  any  rate,  been  thrown  down,  personal 


THE    TWENTY-FIRST    CONGRESS  419 

jealotisies  have  vanished,  other  controversies  have  been 
hushed  !  Bengal's  heroic  stand  against  tlie  oppression  of 
a  harsh  and  uncontrolled  bureaucrac}'  has  astonished  and 
gratified  all  India,  and  her  sufferings  have  not  been 
endured  in  vain,  when  they  have  helped  to  draw  closer  all 
parts  of  the  country  in  sympathy  and  in  aspiration.  A 
great  rush  and  uprising  of  the  waters  such  as  has  been 
recently  witnessed  in  Bengal  cannot  take  place  without 
a  little  inundation  over  the  banks  here  and  there.  These 
little  excesses  are  inevitable  when  large  masses  of  men 
move  spontaneously — especially  when  the  movement  is 
from  darkness  into  lis'ht,  from  bondage  towards  freedom 
— and  they  must  not  be  allowed  to  disconcert  us  too  much. 
'J'he  most  astouiiding  fact  of  the  situation  is  that  the 
public  life  of  this  country  has  received  an  accession  of 
strength  of  great  importance,  and  for  this  all  India  owes 
a  deep  debt  of  gratitude  to  Bengal. 

Speaking  of  the  Swadeshi  movement,  Mr.  Gokliale 
justified  the  boycott  as  a  political  weapon,  to  be 
used  only  at  the  last  extremity,  and  witli  strong 
popular  feeling  behind  it. 

The  devotion  to  Motherland,  which  is  enshrined  in  the 
highest  Swadeshi,  is  an  influence  so  profound  and 
so  passionate  that  its  very  thought  thrills  and  its 
actual  touch  lifts  one  out  of  oneself.  India  needs 
to-day  above  everything  else  that  the  gospel  of  this 
devotion  should  be  preached  to  high  and  low,  to  Prince 
and  to  peasant,  in  town  and  in  hamlet,  till  the  Service 
of  Motherland  becomes  with  us  as  overmastering  a 
passion  as  it  is  in  Japan. 

Turning      then      to      the      Congress      movement, 

Mr.  Gokliale  traced  it    to   the  National  consciousness 

quickened    by   the   beloved   Lord   E,ipon.     "  Hope  at 

that  time   was   warm  and    faith    was  bright  "  that  by 

urging  reforms  Indians    could  win  a  steady   progress 

towards  political  emancipation.  "Much  had  happened 

to    chill    that     faith    and    dim    that  hope,"   yet   the 


420  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

people     now   realised    "  the   idea   of    a  United    India 

working     for    her    salvation  ".       Advance    would    be 

gradual,     but    the     resources    of    the    country    must 

be    devoted   to    it,   and   the   people  educated.     For  a 

hundred    years    England    had   ruled    India,    but  four 

villages  out  of  every  five  were  without  a  school-house, 

and  seven  children  out  of  eight  grew  up  in  ignorance. 

"  India    should  be    governed  first  and  foremost  in  the 

interests    of  the  Indians  themselves.     This  result  will 

be    achieved    only    in    proportion    as    we  obtain  more 

and    more    voice    in  the  Government  of  our  country." 

That  the   Charter   Act  of   1833  and  the 

Queen's  Proclamation  of  1858  have  created  in  the  eyes  of 
reactionary  rulers  a  most  inconvenient  situation  is  clear 
from  a  blunt  declaration  which  another  Viceroy  of  India, 
the  late  Lord  Lytton,  made  in  a  confidential  document 
and  which  has  since  seen  the  light  of  day.  Speaking  of 
our  claims  and  expectations  based  on  the  pledges  of  the 
Sovereign  and  the  Parliament  of  England,  he  wrote : 
"  We  all  know  that  these  claims  and  expectations  never  can 
or  will  ])e  fulfilled.  We  have  had  to  choose  between 
prohibiting  them  [the  Natives  of  India]  and  cheating 
them,     and     we    have    chosen   the   least   straightforward 

course Since   I   am  writing  confidentially,  T  do 

not  hesitate  to  say  that  both  the  Government  of  England 
and  of  India  appear  to  me  up  to  the  present  moment 
unable  to  answer  satisfactorily  the  charge  of  having  taken 
every  means  in  their  power  of  breaking  to  the  heart  the 
words  of  promise  they  had  uttered  to  the  ear. "  We 
accept  Lord  Lytton  as  an  unimpeachable  authority  on  the 
conduct  of  the  Government  in  evading  the  fulfilment  of 
the  pledges.  W^e  deny  his  claim  to  lay  down  that  our 
"claims  and  expectations  never  can  or  will  be  fulfilled  ". 

Our  whole  future,  it  is  needless  to  say,  is  bound  up 
with  this  question  of  the  relative  position  of  the  tw^o  races 
in  this  country.  The  domination  of  one  race  over  another 
— especially   when   there    is   no  great  disparity'   between 


THE    TWENTY-FIRST    CONGRESS  421 

their  intellectual  endowments  or  their  general  civilisation 
— inflicts  great  injury  on  the  subject  race  in  a  thousand 
insidious  ways.  On  the  moral  side,  the  present  situation 
is  steadily  destroying  our  capacity  for  initiative  and 
dwarfing  us  as  men  of  action.  On  the  material  side,  it 
has  resulted  in  a  fearful  impoverishment  of  the  people. 
For  a  hundred  years  and  more  now  India  has  been  for 
members  of  the  dominant  race  a  country  where  fortunes 
Avere  to  be  made,  to  be  taken  out  and  spent  elsewhere. 
As  in  Ireland  the  evil  of  absentee  landlordism  has  in  the 
past  aggravated  the  racial  domination  of  the  English 
over  the  Irish,  so  in  India  what  may  be  called  absentee 
capitalism  has  been  added  to  the  racial  ascendancy  of 
Englishmen.  A  great  and  ruinous  drain  of  wealth 
from  the  country  has  gone  on  for  many  years,  the  net 
excess  of  exports  over  imports  (including  treasure) 
during  the  last  forty  years  amounting  to  no  less  than  a 
thousand  millions  sterling.  The  steady  rise  in  the  death- 
rate  of  the  country — from  24  per  thousand,  the  average 
for  1882-84,  to  30  per  thousand,  the  average  for  1892- 
94,  and  34  per  thousand,  the  present  average — is  a 
terrible  and  conclusive  proof  of  this  continuous  impoverish- 
ment of  the  mass  of  our  people.  India's  best  interests 
— material  and  moral — no  less  than  the  honour  of 
England,  demand  that  the  policy  of  equality  for  the 
two  races  promised  by  the  Sovereign  and  by  Parliament 
should  be  faithfully   and  courageously  carried  out. 

Mr.  Gokhale  then  turned  to  the  bureaucracy,  and 
bitterly  blamed  the  system,  adding  that  "  the 
bureaucracy  is  growing  frankly  selfish  and  openly 
hostile  to  their  [the  educated  classes]  national 
aspirations.  It  was  not  so  in  the  past."  And  he 
spoke  of  the  different  feeling  within  living  memory, 
when  the  rulers  looked  forward  to  India's  Self- 
Government.  It  was  pretended  that  the  people  were 
indifferent,  but  "  what  the  educated  Indians  think 
to-day,  the  rest  of  India  thinks  to-morrow  '\ 


422  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Lastly,  Mr,  Gokliale  advised  concentration  on 
selected  portions  of  the  Congress  programme  :  (1)  a 
larger  and  larger  share  in  administration  and  control, 
by  a  steady  substitution  of  Indians  for  Europeans; 
(2)  improvement  in  methods  of  administration  ;  (3)  re- 
adjustment of  financial  arrangements;  and  (4)  measures 
to  improve  the  condition  of  the  people.  An  elabora- 
tion of  these   brought  his  splendid  speech  to  a  close. 

The  approval  of  the  Subjects'  Committee  was 
given,  and  the  Congress  adjourned. 

On  the  second  day,  after  noting  some  telegrams  of 
good  wishes,  the  President  moved  from  the  Chair  the 
first  Resolution  of  welcome  to  T.  R.  H.  the  Prince 
and  Princess  of  Wales,  and  it  was  enthusiastically 
carried. 

Resolution  II,  on  the  further  reform  of  the 
Legislative  Councils,  was  moved  by  the  Hon. 
Mr.  J.  Choudhuri,  who  remarked  that  recent 
legislation  would  have  been  very  diiferent  had  the 
Supreme  Council  been  more  than  a  debating  society. 
Indians  practically  said  to  the  officials  :  "  That  is  our 
suggestion  :  reason  is  on  our  side  :  justice  is  on  our 
side :  the  votes  are  on  your  side  :  do  just  as  you 
please."  The  Hon.  Mr.  L.  A.  Govindaraghava  Iyer 
seconded  in  a  weighty  speech,  pointing  out  that 
England's  chief  aim  was  not  merely  to  govern  India 
efficiently  but  "  to  make  her  Self-Co verning,"  and 
for  this  larg(!r  representation  was  needed.  Messrs. 
R.  P.  Karandikar,  C  S.  Khaparde,  Ali  Muhammad 
Bhimji,  and  Surendranath  Bannerji  supported,  and 
the  Resolution  was  carried. 


THE    TWENTY-riRST    CONGKESS  423 

Resolution  III  was  on  Excise  Policy  and  Administra- 
tion, and  was  ably  moved  by  Sir  Bhalcliandra 
Krishna,  seconded  by  Mr.  G.  A.  Natesan,  supported 
by  Mr.  B.  S.  Bhatia  and  carried. 

Resolution  IV  dealt  with  representation,  but  on 
lines  different  from  those  of  Resolution  II,  for  it 
asked  that  each  Province  in  India  should  return  two 
members  to  the  House  of  Commons,  that  three 
Indians  should  be  placed  on  the  India  Council, 
two  in  the  Viceroy's  Executive  Council,  and  one  in 
the  Executive  Councils  of  Bombay  and  Madras. 
Mr.  G.  Srinivasa  Rao  moved  the  Resolution  in  a 
short  speech,  Mr.  S.  R.  Das  formally  seconded  it, 
Mr.  Fazal  Husain  supported  it,  and  it  was  unani- 
mously carried. 

Mr.  Ambalal  Desai  moved  Resolution  V,  suggest- 
ing a  revival  of  Parliamentary  enquiries  into  the 
condition  of  the  country,  and  the  placing  of  the 
Seci'etary  of  State's  salary  on  the  British  estimates. 
He  recalled  the  value  of  the  enquiries  on  the  renewals 
of  the  East  India  Company's  Charter,  and  such  en- 
quiries might  mitigate  present  evils.  Mr.  Tarapada 
Bannerji  seconded,  laying  stress  on  the  importance 
of  such  enquiries.  Mr.  V.  Krishnasvv^ami  Aiyar  sup- 
ported, noting  that  when  the  Government  of  India 
had  been  transferred  to  the  Crown,  serious  misgivings 
had  been  felt  as  to  Parliamentary  control,  and  they 
had  been  justified.  Good  might  come  out  of  such 
enquiries  as  were  proposed,  as  the  knowledge 
obtained  would  touch  the  heart  of  the  British  people. 
The  Resolution  was  carried. 


424  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Resolution  VI  dealt  with  the  Public  Service 
question,  and  was  moved  by  Mr.  N.  M.  Samarth,  who 
dealt  sevei'ely  with  Lord  Curzon's  insolent  treatment 
of  the  Proclamation  of  1858,  saying  that  "happily 
for  his  Lordship  and  unhappily  for  India,  we  are  not 
living  in  the  days  of  Burke  and  Sheridan.  Otherwise 
one  could  well  imagine  the  fate  that  would  probably 
have  befallen  the  late  Viceroy  on  his  return  to 
England,  after  trifling  with  the  Queen's  Proclamation." 
Pandit  Bishan  Narayana  Dhar  seconded,  pointing  to 
the  eminent  Indians  who  were  "  debarred  from  holding 
high  appointments  in  the  Public  Service  of  their  own 
country ".  Mr.  J.  Simeon  and  the  Hon.  Mr.  K.  R. 
Gruruswami  Aiyar  supported,  and  the  Resolution  was 
carried.     The  Congress  then  adjourned. 

On  the  third  day,  Mr.  G.  Su])ramania  Iyer  moved 
Resolution  VII,  dealing  with  the  fashion  in  which 
the  artificial  surpluses  were  disposed  of,  and  referred 
to  Mr.  Gokhale's  speech  in  the  previous  year  as  the 
basis  of  his  own.  Mr.  R.  N.  Mudholkar  seconded, 
deploring  the  unsoundness  of  Indian  finance,  and 
pointing  out  that  expenditure  grew  from  military 
extravagance,  and  high  berths  for  Europeans,  while 
education  was  starved.  Mr.  Mathura  Das  supported, 
and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Mr.  H.  A.  Wadia  moved  Resolution  A^Ili,  on 
the  hopeless  subject  of  military  expenditure,  and 
asked  that  the  JO  niillinns  sterling  sanctioned  for 
military  purposes  be  spent  in  education  and  in 
reducing  the  ryots'  burdens.  On  speaking  for  "  the 
voiceless    millions,"    he    said,    "it    is    not    so  much  a 


THE    TWENTY-FIKST    CONGRESS  425 

right  that  we  desire  to  assert  as  a  sacred  duty  which 
we  aspire  to  perform ".  Mr.  V.  Ryru  Nambier 
seconded,  urging  that  a  large  army  was  not  needed  to 
secure  internal  peace ;  what  was  an  army  in  a 
population  of  300  millions  ?  The  loyalty  of  these  was 
India's  defence.  After  speeches  from  Messrs.  N.  B. 
Ranade  and  Krishna  Baldev  Varma,  the  Resolution 
was  carried. 

Resolution  IX  was  on  the  South  African 
troubles  growing  worse  each  year,  the  conditions  of 
the  Indians  being  far  worse  than  under  the  Boers, 
urged  Mr.  Madanjit.  Mr.  B.  N.  Sarma  spoke  out 
boldly,  warning  England  that  in  the  Empire  there 
could  not  be  permanently  a  racial  supremacy,  one 
race  dominating  another.  "  If  we  are  true  to  our- 
selves, then  the  race  which  has  produced  the  great 
philosophers,  the  greatest  statesmen  and  the  greatest 
warriors  shall  not  crouch  for  this  or  that  favour  at 
the  hands  of  other  people.  It  is  then  and  then  alone 
that  the  South  African  problem,  as  well  as  other 
Indian  problems  will  find  their  best  solution."  Well 
spoken  indeed.     Then,  and  only  then. 

Dr.  B.  S.  Munji  remarked  that  Indians  as  a  Nation 
were  boycotted,  both  in  and  out  of  India,  Foreigners 
in  India  dominated  and  ruled,  and  Indians  in  foreign 
countries  were  ruthlessly  boycotted.  "Our  rulers  do 
not  believe  that  we  are  men."  The  Resolution  was 
carried. 

Mr.  Romesh  Chandra  Dutt  gave  a  charm  even 
to  our  old  friend  the  separation  of  Judicial  and 
Executive  functions,  embodied  in  Resolution  X^  and 
34 


426  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

the  Hon.  Mr.  Setalwad  duly  seconded  it.  Dr.  Satish 
Chandra  Bannerji  supported,  urging  the  need  to  make 
British  justice  sound.  Mr.  Bishnupada  Chatterji 
added  some  instances  of  the  miscarriages  of  justice, 
and  the  Resolution  passed — as  usual. 

Police  Reforms  were  entrusted  to  their  old  cham- 
pion, Mr.  S.  Sinha,  and  he  moved  Resolution  XI,  and 
said  how  bitterly  the  Police  Commission  had  dis- 
appointed them,  constituting  a  special  Police  Service 
from  which  Indians  should  be  excluded.  Lord  Cur/.on's 
corps'  (Vrlite,  reserved  to  Europeans.  Messrs.  Jogiah, 
Ishwar  Saran,  Nargunti  Kar,  A.  C.  Parthasarathi 
Naidu,  and  Kaliprasanna  Kavyabisharad,  all  spoke  to 
it,  and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  XII  against  the  Partition  of  Bengal  was 
moved  by  Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji,  as  soon  as  the 
shouts  of  "  Bande  Mataram  "  allowed  him  to  speak. 
With  passionate  eloquence  he  voiced  the  anger  of  his 
people,  and  declared  that  agitation  should  never  stop 
until  the  Partition  Avas  cancelled.  He  proved  to  be  a 
true  prophet,  and  the  cancellation  in  1911  proved 
what  agitation  could  do,  even  in  India,  under  coercion 
and  an  autocracy.  He  described  the  grief  and 
excitement  in  Calcutta  :  "  the  shops  were  closed, 
the  domestic  hearth  wiis  not  lit,  food  was  not 
cooked  ".  The  Government  was  busy  "  forging  in- 
struments of  repression,  laying  tlie  foundation  for  the 
inauguration  of  a  reign  of  terror  ".  Meetings  were 
prohilnted,  Sankirtan  ])rocessions  stopped,  the  singing 
of"  Bande  Mataram  "  ])unished,  boys  prosecuted  and 
sent  to  gaol.     They  believed  Cod  was  witli  tliem,  and 


THE    TWENTY-FIRST    CONGRESS  427 

"  men  fortified  by  such  belief  and  working  under  such 
conviction  are  irresistible  and  invincible  ;  there  is  no 
danger  which  they  are  not  ready  to  brave,  no 
difficulty  which  they  are  not  prepared  to  surmount  ". 
Mr.  A.  Choudhuri  seconded  in  a  witty  speech, 
and  Messrs.  Baikunthanath  Sen,  C.  V.  Vaidya  (Rao 
Bahadur),  S.  Sinha,  Hadayat  Bakshi,  Abdul  Kasim, 
R.  N.  Mudholkar  (Rao  Bahadur)  and  Nussuruddin, 
voiced,  in  one  indignant  protest  after  another,  the 
anger  and  determination  of  India.  Not  often  has 
the  National  Congress  witnessed  such  a  scene  of 
excitement. 

Then  came  Resolution  XIII,  protesting  against  the 
repressive  measures  adopted  to  crush  the  antagoiiism 
that  Lord  Curzon's  tyranny  had  created.  Pandit 
Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  showed,  in  moving  it,  that  not 
one  act  of  violence  had  been  committed  by  the  people, 
in  spite  of  all  that  had  occurred.  No  protest  was 
heeded,  and  as  a  last  measure  of  despair  the  boycott 
of  foreign  goods  was  adopted.  Then  came  a  series 
of  repressive  measures;  "persecution  is  the  only  word 
that  you  can  use  "  for  the  measures  adopted.  Ear- 
nestly he  hoped  that  the  Government  would  put  an 
end  to  the  boycott  by  removing  its  cause. 

Lala  Lajpat  Rai,  seconding,  congratulated  Bengal 
on  its  splendid  opportunity  of  heralding  a  new 
political  era  for  the  country.  The  English  had  taught 
them  how  to  resist  wlien  they  had  a  grievance,  and 
the  English  expected  them  to  show  more  manliness 
in  their  struggles  for  liberty.  They  must  show  that 
they    were     "  no    longer     beggars^   and  that   we   are 


428  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

subjects  of  an  Empire  where  people  are  struggling  to 
achieve  that  position  which  is  their  right".  If  other 
Provinces  followed  the  example  of  Bengal  the  day- 
was  not  far  distant  when  they  would  win. 

Messrs.  H.  A.  Wadia,  W.  D.  A.  Khare,  V.  Krishna- 
swami  Aiyar — who  recounted  the  example  of  Ireland 
and  of  China — A.  H.  Graznavi — who  exposed  the  vio- 
lent and  hysterical  behaviour  of  Mr.  Bamfylde  Fuller, 
his  threats,  and  his  rudeness  to  respectable  men, 
whom  he  rated  and  insulted  like  a  bully, "  blood- 
shed might  be  necessary,"  he  said,  and  the  Gurkhas 
had  been  brought  to  check  the  state  of  affairs — 
Panday  Eamsaran  Lai  and  G.  S.  Khaparde  all 
spoke,  the  Resolution  was  passed,  and  the  meeting 
adjourned. 

The  Congress  met  for  the  fourtli  time  on  December 
80th,  and  the  President  called  on  ]\Ir.  Heramba 
Chandra  Maitra  to  move  Resolution  XIV  on  Education, 
which  protested  against  the  policy  of  officialising  and 
restricting  education,  thanked  the  Government  for 
some  special  grants  made,  though  insufficient  to  meet 
the  country's  needs,  and  urged  the  recommendations 
made  by  the  Industrial  Education  Committee,  and  the 
establishment  of  a  Polytechnic  Institute,  with  affiliated 
schools  and  colleges.  The  mover  made  a  weighty 
and  impressive  speecli,  remarking  that  amid  the 
exciting  topics  of  the  time  tlie  perennial  importance 
of  education  must  iK^t  be  overlooked.  Higher 
education  was  openly  restricted  by  the  Government, 
who  regarded  one  college  student  to  every  11,000  of 
the     population     as      too    large    a    proportion.     The 


THE    TWENTY-FIRSl*    COiJGREsS  429 

University  Commission  said  that  it  was  better  to 
have  a  comparatively  small  number  well  educated  than 
a  large  number  inadequately  educated. 

Is  it  better  that  a  few  men  should  have  a  surfeit  of 
luxur}^  and  millions  should  starve,  than  that  all  should  be 
moderately  fed  ?  Is  it  better  that  a  few  healthy  strong 
giants  should  stride  across  the  face  of  the  country,  and 
others  should  be  so  many  skeletons  ?  Is  it  better  that 
there  should  be  a  few  saints  in  the  country  and  the  rest 
should  be  blackguards,  than  that  all  men  should  be  of 
fairly  good  character  ? 

The   question   could    not    be  better  put.     The  view 

taken    by   the   University  Commission   is   opposed  to 

every    modern    theory   of  Society,  though  it  is  easy  to 

see  why  it  should  be  the  view  of  a  foreign  Government, 

determined   to    keep  a  Nation  in  bonds.     Mr.  Maitra 

said  with  impassioned  eloquence  : 

We  are  denied  admission  into  South  African  Re- 
publics ;  we  are  denied  admission  into  Australia.  Are 
we  also  to  be  denied  admission  into  the  Republic  of 
Letters  ?  Are  we  not  to  be  admitted  freely  to  the 
franchises  of  the  citizenship  of  the  great  Republic  of 
Letters  ?  ....  We  claim.,  we  demand,  that  we  should  be 
helped  to  believe  that  the  British  Gevernment  in 
India  is  a  wise  and  humane  dispensation  and  not 
a  scourge  for  the  punishment  of  the  people  for  their 
former  sins.  That  is  all  we  demand  and  ask  for 
in  this  Resolution.  The  noblest  service  which  one  man 
can  render  to  another,  next  to  helping  in  the  belief  in  the 
glory  and  goodness  of  God,  is  to  unfold  the  doors  of  the 
temple  of  culture  to  a  man,  and  the  cruellest  wrong  that 
one  can  do  for  another  is  to  withhold  from  him  the  boon 
of  education,  which  is  a  solace  to  him  in  the  days  of 
sorrow,  wliich  is  an  augmentation  in  the  days  of  joy,  which 
is  always  a  friend  and  companion.  We  demand  that 
England  shall  not  be  deliberately  guilty  of  that  cruel 
wrong". 


430  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Mr.  D.  CI.  Pandhya  seconded  and,  after  many 
sound  arguments  against  the  officialising  of  education, 
remarked  that  "  the  aim  is  to  manufacture  in 
India,  to  manufacture  from  colleges  and  schools, 
suhmissive  slaves  who  will  be  Avilling  instruments 
in  the  hands  of  despots  Avho  live  upon  the  people  of 
this  country  ".  Dr.  Nilratan  Sircar,  supporting, 
advocated  industrial  education,  pleading  for  an  adapt- 
ation of  technical  education  as  in  Japan,  America  and 
Germany.  Messrs.  M.  K.  Patel,  Ramananda  Chatterji 
— who  said  that  India's  political  salvation  depended 
on  mass  education — and  Nareschaudra  Sen  supported 
the  Eesolution,  which  was  carried. 

Mr.  B.  G.  Tilak,  "  who  was  received  with  an 
ovation,"  says  the  Report,  moved  Resolution  XV  on 
Famine,  Poverty,  Economic  Enquiry  and  Land 
Revenue  ;  he  urged  the  duty  of  Government  to  deal 
with  the  causes  of  poverty,  to  ensure  prosperity ; 
Governments  would  not  be  needed  if  there  were 
universal  well-being,  any  more  than  doctors  would 
be  wanted  if  there  were  no  disease.  Pandit 
Gokarnath  seconded,  Messrs.  N.  K.  Ramaswami 
Aiyar,  Sanktu  Prasad,  Rambhuj  Dutt,  and  K.  N. 
Deskmukh  supported,  and  the  Resolution  was 
carried. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  G.  K.  Parekh  moved  and  Mr.  Ali 
Muhammad  Bhimji  seconded.  Resolution  XVI,  to 
relieve  the  Muhammadan  pilgrims  of  the  Bombay 
quarantine  in  view  of  the  10  days'  quarantine  at 
Kamran.  The  Resolution  was  supported  by  Moulvi 
Abdul  Kayum  and  Mr.  G.  S.  Khare,  and  passed. 


THE    TWENTY-FIRST    CONGRESS  431 

Resolution  XYII,  the  Omnibus,  was  put  from  the 
Chair.  Mr.  K.  Venkata  Rao  proposed  and  Mr.  J.  N. 
Roy  seconded  Resohition  XVIII,  supporting  Mr. 
Dadabhai  Naoroji's  candidature  at  South  Lambetli ; 
and  i\Ir.  D.  A.  Khare  moved  and  Mr.  K.  Nara- 
yana  Rao  seconded  Resohition  XIX,  thanking 
Mr.  G.  K.  riokhale  and  Lala  Lajpat  Rai  for 
their  great  services  in  EngLand.  Mr.  M.  V.  Joshi 
then  moved  Resohition  XX,  appointing  Mr.  Gokhale 
to  be  the  Delegate  of  the  Congress  to  urge  the  more 
pressing  proposals  of  the  Congress  on  the  authorities 
in  England.  Mr.  C.  Vijiaraghavachari  seconded,  and 
Sister  Nivedita  supported  the  Resolution,  urging  the 
Congress  to  remember  the  birth  of  Nationality  in 
Europe,  an  impulse  against  the  Napoleonic  movement, 
a  century  before  ;  now  history  Avas  repeating  itself, 
and  India  must  speak  for  the  salvation  of  Europe, 
for  the  English  Empire  must  be  Imperialism  or 
Nationality,  Slavery  of  Nations  or  Freedom  for  the 
]ieoples  of  the  earth. 

Resolution  XXI  appointed  a  Standing  Committee 
to  promote  the  objects  of  the  Congress  throughout 
the  year.  Resolution  XXII  re-appointed  the  Secre- 
taries ;  Resolution  XXIII  thanked  Sir  William 
Wedderburn  and  tlie  British  Committee.  Then 
Mr.  Yatindranath  Choudhuri  invited  the  next  Con- 
gress to  Calcutta,  the  Congress  gladly  accepting. 

Finally,  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya,  in  words 
of  deepest  gratitude  and  admiration,  voiced  the 
love  and  trust  of  India  in  the  vote  of  thanks  to 
the     President,    endorsed    by    tumultuous    applause ; 


432  HOW    INDIA   WEOUQHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  seconded,  and  Mr.  Gokhale 
very  briefly  replied.  Thus  had  the  Twenty-first 
National  Congress  its  ending. 

RESOLUTIONS 

Message  of  Welcome  to  Their  Royal  Highnesses 
the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales 

I.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  representing  His  Majesty's 
Indian  subjects  of  all  races,  creeds  and  communities,  most  humbly 
and  respectfiiUy  oifers  its  loyal  and  dutiful  welcome  to  Their  Royal 
Highnesses  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  on  the  occasion  of 
their  visit  to  India. 

The  Congress  is  deeply  touched  by  the  expressions  of  Their 
Highnesses'  sentiments  of  cordial  good-will  towards  the  people  of 
India,  is  confident  that  the  personal  knowledge  gained  during  the 
present  tour  will  stimulate  their  kindly  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
its  people,  and  it  expresses  the  fervent  hope  that  His  Royal 
Highness  will  be  graciously  pleased  to  submit,  to  His  Majesty  the 
King-Emperor,  the  earnest  prayer  of  this  Congress  that  the 
principles  of  the  Queen's  Proclamation  be  enforced  in  the 
Government  of  this  country. 

(«)  That  the  President  do  submit  the  above  resolution  to 
His  Royal  Highness  by  wire. 

Representation 

II.  Resoh'ed — That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  time 
has  arrived  for  a  further  expansion  and  reform  of  the  Supreme  and 
Provincial  Legislative  Councils,  so  that  they  may  become  more 
representative  of  the  people,  and  the  non-official  members  thereof 
may  have  a  real  voice  in  the  Government  of  the  country.  The 
Congress  recommends  an  increase  in  the  number  of  non-official  and 
elected  members  and  the  grant  to  them  of  the  right  of  dividing  the 
Councils  in  financial  matters  coming  before  them  ;  the  head  of  the 
Government   concerned  possessing  the  power  of  veto. 

IV.  Resolved — That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  time 
has  arrived  when  the  people  of  India  should  be  allowed  a  larger 
voice  in  the  ndiiiinistration  and  control  of  the  affairs  of  their 
country  by : 

(a)  The  bestowal  on  each  of  the  Provinces  of  India  the 
franchise  to  return  at  least  two  members  to  the  British  House  of 
Commons. 


THE    TWENTY-FIEST    CONGRESS  433 

(b)  The  appointment  of  not  less  than  three  Indian  gentlemen 
of  proved  ability  and  experience  as  members  of  the  Secretary  of 
State's  Council. 

(c)  The  appointment  of  two  Indians  as  men\bers  of  the 
Governor-General's  Executive  Council  and  of  one  Indian  as  a 
member  of  the  Executive  Councils  of  Bombay  and  Madras. 

Bxcise 

III.  Resolved — That  (a)  this  Congress,  while  thanking  the 
Government  of  India  for  the  appointment  of  a  Committee  to 
enquire  into  Excise  Administration  in  the  sevei-al  Provinces  of  the 
country,  regrets  that  its  composition  is  exclusively  ofScial,  and  that, 
therefore,  it  cannot  inspire  full  public  confidence  ; 

(h)  this  Congress,  concurring  in  the  opinion  of  previous 
Congresses,  expresses  its  deliberate  conviction  that  the  recognition 
of  the  principle  of  local  option  in  practical  administration  and  a 
large  reduction  in  the  number  of  existing  liquor-shops  are  conditions 
precedent  to  any  satisfactory  reform  in  Excise  Administration  ; 

(c)  this  Congress  respectfully  urges  on  the  Government  of 
India  the  desirability  of  speedily  carrying  out  the  principal 
proposals  contained  in  Sir  Fredrick  Lely's  memorandum  of  last 
year  on  Excise  Administration  ; 

(d)  that  the  Congress  begs  to  protest  against  the  virtual 
shelving,  by  the  Government  of  India  in  its  executive  capacity,  of 
the  Bengal  Excise  Bill,  which  has  been  welcomed  as  a  sound  and 
progressive  piece  of  temperance  legislation. 

Periodical  Enquiries 

V.  Resolved- — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  to  enable 
the  Parliament  to  discharge  more  satisfactorily  its  responsibility  in 
regard  to  the  Government  of  India,  periodical  Parliamentary  en- 
quiries into  the  condition  of  India  should  be  revived,  and  the  salary 
of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India  should  be  placed  on  the  British 
estimates. 

Public   Service 

VI.  Resolved— (a)  That,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Congress,  the 
principles  and  policy  enunciated  by  the  Government  of  India  in 
their  Resolution,  dated  24th  May,  1904,  on  the  subject  of  the 
employment  of  Indians  in  the  higher  grades  of  the  Public  Service, 
are  inconsistent  with  those  laid  down  in  the  Parliamentary  Statute 
of  1833  and  the  Proclamation  of  1858  by  the  late  Queen-Empress, 
and  this  Congress  enters  its  respectful  but  emphatic  protest  against 
an    attempt    to    explain    away     pledges    solemnly   given  by   the 


434  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    TOR    FREEDOM 

Sovereign  and  Parliament  to  tlie  people  of  this  country,  and  to 
deviate  from  arrangements  deliberately  arrived  at  by  the  Govern- 
ment after  a  careful  examination  of  the  whole  question  by  a  Public 
Commission. 

{h)  That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  tluit  the  true  remedy 
for  many  existing  financial  and  administrative  evils  lies  in  the 
wider  employment  of  Indians  in  the  higher  branches  of  the 
country's  service  ;  and  while  concurring  with  previous  Congresses 
in  urging  that  immediate  effect  should  be  given  to  the  Resolution 
of  the  House  of  Commons  of  2nd  June,  1893,  in  favour  of  holding 
the  competitive  examinaticjns  for  the  Civil  Services  simultaneously 
in  England  and  in  India,  this  Congress  places  on  record  its  firm 
conviction  that  the  only  satisfactory  solution  of  this  question  is  to 
be  found  in  the  re-organisation  of  the  Indian  Civil  Service,  which 
should  be  reconstituted  on  a  decentralised  basis,  its  judicial 
functions  in  the  meantime  being  partly  transferred  to  persons  who 
have  been  trained  in  the  profession  of  law. 

(c)  That  this  Congress,  concurring  in  the  opinion  of  the  last 
Congress,  deplores  the  abolition  of  the  competitive  test  for  the 
Provincial  Service.  Past  experience  has  amply  established  the  fact 
that  a  system  of  Government  noniination  degenerates,  in  the 
special  circumstances  of  this  country,  into  a  system  of  appointment 
by  official  favour,  and  thus  by  bringing  unfit  men  into  the  Service, 
impairs  the  efficiency  of  the  administration  and,  in  addition, 
unfairly  discredits  the  fitness  of  Indians  for  high  office.  This 
Congress,  therefore,  respectfully  urges  the  Government  of  India  to 
restore  the  competitive  test  for  the  Provincial  Service. 

Finance 

Vil.  Ilesolved — That  this  Congress,  while  appreciating  the 
action  of  the  Government  of  India  in  applying  a  portion  of  its 
surplus  revenues  last  March  to  sonic  of  the  purposes  recommended 
by  the  Congress,  is  of  opinion  that  the  financial  relief  given  by 
it  to  the  tax-payers  of  this  country  during  the  last  three  years  has 
been  most  inadequate,  and  tlic  Congress  regrets  that  advantage  has 
been  taken  of  recent  sur])luses  to  increase  largely  the  military 
expenditure  of  the  country,  raise  the  salaries  of  European  officials 
in  several  dejiartments  and  create  a  number  of  new  posts  for  them. 
The  Congress  urges  that  any  sur])lus  that  may  arise  in  the  future 
should,  in  the  first  place,  be  utilised  for  jnirposcs  of  remission  of 
taxation,  and,  secondly,  be  devoted  to  objects  directly  benefiting  the 
jieople,  such  as  imparting  scientific,  industrial  and  agricultural 
education,  providing  increased  facilities  of  medical  relief  and 
assisting  Municipal  and  Local  Boards  with  grants  to  undertake 
urgently  needed  measures  of  sanitary  reform,  and  the  improvement 
of  means  of  communication  in  the  interior. 


THE    TWENTY-FIRST    CONGRESS  435 

Military 

VIII.  Resolved — (a)  That  this  Coiigress,  while  recording  its 
emphatic  protest  against  any  change  which  weakens  the  supremacy 
of  the  Civil  control  over  the  Military  authorities,  is  of  opinion  that 
the  necessary  Civil  control  cannot  be  adequately  exercised  until  and 
unless  the  representatives  of  the  tax-payers  are  placed  in  a  position 
to  influence  such  _  jntrol. 

(b)  That  ibis  Congress  earnestly  rejDeats  its  protest  against 
the  continued  increase  in  the  military  expenditure,  which  is 
unnecessary,    unjust    and  beyond  the  caj.acity  of  the  Indian  people. 

(r)  That  this  Congress  is  distinctly  of  opinion  that  as  the 
militar}'  expenditure  of  this  country  is  determined,  not  by  its  own 
military  needs  and  requirements  alone  but  also  by  the  exigencies  of 
British  supremacy  and  British  policy  in  the  East,  it  is  only  fair 
that  a  proportionate  share  of  such  expenditure  should  he  met  out  of 
the  British  Exchequer  and  shared  by  the  Enquire  at  large,  instead  of 
the  whole  of  such  expenditure  falling  on  a  part  of  the  Empire 
which  is  the  poorest  and  the  least  able  to  bear  it. 

(d)  That  in  view  of  the  changed  position  of  affairs  in  Asia, 
due  to  the  recent  war  between  Russia  and  Japan  and  the  Anglo- 
Japanese  Treaty,  this  Congress  earnestly  urges  that  the  large 
expenditure  of  10  millions  sterling  sanctioned  last  year  for  the  Re- 
organisation scheme  be  not  now  incurred,  and  the  money  be  devoted 
to  an  extension  of  education  in  all  its  branches  and  reduction  of 
the  i-yofs  burdens. 

Indians  in  British  Colonies 

IX.  Resolved— That  («)  this  Congress,  while  exjjressing  its 
sense  of  satisfaction  at  the  passing  by  the  Australian  House  of 
representatives,  of  a  Bill  to  amend  the  Law  of  Immigration  so  as  to 
avoid  hurting  the  susceptibilities  of  the  people  of  India,  again 
places  on  record  its  sense  of  deep  regret  that  British  Indians  should 
continue  to  be  subjected  to  harassing  and  degrading  restrictions 
anfl  denied  the  ordinary  rights  of  British  citizenship  in  His 
Majesty's  Colonies.  The  Congress  particularly  protests  against  the 
enforcement  by  the  British  Government  of  disabilities  on  the 
Indian  settlers  in  the  Transvaal  and  Orange  River  Crown  Colonies, 
Mliich  were  not  enforced  even  under  the  old  Boer  rule,  in  spite  of 
declarations  by  His  Majesty's  Minister  that  the  treatment  of  the 
Indian  subjects  of  the  King-Emperor  by  the  Boer  Government 
Mas  one  of  the  causes  of  the  late  war ; 

(h)  in  view  of  the  important  part  the  Indian  settlers  have 
played  in  the  development  of  the  Colonies,  their  admitted  loyalty 
and  peaceful  and  industrious  habits,  their  useful  and  self-sacriticing 
services  during  the  recent  war,  and,  above  all,  the  great  constitution- 
al   imijortance    of  the  pi-inciple   of  equal  treatment  of  all  citizens  of 


436  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    TOR    FREEDOM 

the  Empire  anywhere  in  the  King-'s  Dominions,  this  Conpfress 
respectfally,  but  strongly,  urges  the  Government  of  India  and  HiH 
Majesty's  Grovernment  to  insist,  by  prohibiting,  if  necessary,  the 
emigration  of  indentured  labour  and  adopting  other  retaliatory 
measures,  on  the  recognition  of  the  status  of  Indian  emigrants  as 
British  citizens  in  all  the  Colonies. 

Legal 

X.  Resolved—  (a)  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  a  com- 
plete sepai-ating  of  Judicial  from  Executive  functions  must  now  be 
carried  out  without  further  delay ;  (b)  that  this  Congress, 
coucuiTiug  with  previous  Congresses,  urges  that  the  Judicial 
Service,  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  should  be  recruited  from  the 
Legal  profession  more  largely  than  at  present,  as  the  system  of 
appointing  Civilians  without  special  legal  training  to  high  judicial 
offices  does  not  lead  to  satisfactory  administration  of  justice  in 
the  Muffasal. 

Police 

XI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  while  noting  with  satisfac- 
tion some  useful  reforms  recommended  by  the  Police  Commission, 
regrets  that  adequate  measures  have  not  been  adopted  to  materially 
imiDrove  the  efficiency  and  the  honesty  of  the  Police  Service. 

That  this  Congress  records  its  conviction  : 

(1)  That  competitive  examinations  for  the  recruitment  of 
the  Police  Service  in  the  higher  grades  should  be  thrown  open  to 
all  classes  of  British  subjects  instead  of  being  contined  to  candidates 
of  British  birth,  and  that  such  examinations  should  be  held 
simultaneously  in  England  and  in  India. 

(2)  That  educated  Indians  should  be  largely  employed  in 
the  higher  grades  in  order  to  secure  efficiency  in  work. 

(3)  That  enlistment  in  the  Provincial  Service  should  be  by 
competitive  examinations. 

(4)  And  histly,  that  District  Officers,  who  are  the  heads  of 
the  Police,  should  be  relieved  of  judicial  work  and  of  all  control 
over  the  Magistracy  of  the  District. 

Coercion 

TJtr  Partition  of  Bengal 

XII.  Resolved — -That  this  Congress  records  its  emphatic 
protest  against  the  Partition  of  Bengal  in  the  face  of  the  strongest 
opposition  on  the  pnrt  of  the  people  of  the  Province. 

That  having  rogai-d  to  the  intense  dissatisfaction  felt  by  the 
entire    Bengali  community  at  tlie  dismemberment  of  their  Province 


THE    TWENTY-FIEST    CONGRESS  437 

and  their  manifest  disinclination  to  accept  the  Partition  as  an 
accomplished  fact,  this  Congress  appeals  to  the  Government  of 
India  and  to  the  Secretary  of  State  to  reverse  or  modify  the 
arrangements  made  in  such  a  manner  as  to  conciliate  public  opinion, 
and  allay  the  excitement  and  unrest  manifest  among  large  masses 
of  the  people. 

That  thia  Congress  recommends  the  adoption  of  some  arrange- 
ment which  would  be  consistent  with  administrative  efficiency,  and 
would  place  the  entire  Bengali  community  under  one  undivided 
administration  either  by  the  appointment  of  a  Governor  and  Council, 
or  by  the  adoption  of  some  other  administrative  arrangement  that 
may  be  thought  desirable. 

Repressive  Measures 

XIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  records  its  earnest  and 
emphatic  protest  against  the  repressive  measures  which  have  been 
adopted  by  the  authorities  in  Bengal  after  the  people  there  had 
been  compelled  to  resort  to  the  boycott  of  foreign  goods  as  a  last 
protest,  and  perhaps  the  only  constitutional  and  effective  means 
left  to  them  of  drawing  the  attention  of  the  British  public  to  the 
action  of  the  Government  of  India  in  persisting  in  their  determina- 
tion to  partition  Bengal,  in  utter  disi-egard  of  the  universal  prayers 
and  protests  of  the  people. 


[See  XVII,  6.] 


Education 


XIV.  Resolved- — (a)  That  this  Congress  repeats  its  protest 
against  the  present  policy  of  the  Government  of  India  in  respect 
of  High  and  Secondary  education,  as  being  one  of  officialising  the 
governing  bodies  of  the  Universities  and  restricting  the  spread  of 
education. 

{h)  That  this  Congress,  while  thanking  the  Government  of 
India  for  the  special  grants  made  this  year  to  Primary  and  High 
Education,  again  places  on  record  its  firm  conviclion  that  the 
material  and  moral  interests  of  the  country  demand  a  much  larger 
expenditure  than  at  present  on  all  branches  of  education,  and  a 
beginning  in  the  direction  of  Free  Primary  Education. 

(c)  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  recommenda- 
tions of  the  Committee  on  Industrial  Education  shoidd  be  promptly 
carried  out  by  the  Government  for  the  better  pi-ovision  of  Technical 
Education  to  the  youth  of  the  country.  The  Congress  especially 
urges  the  Government  to  order  an  Industrial  Survey  as  recommended 
by  the  Committee,  and  as  suggested  by  the  Government  of  India 
itself  in  its  Home  Department  Resolution  No.  199,  dated  18th  June, 
1888,  as  a  necessary  pi-elirainary  to  the  introduction  of  an 
organised  system  of  TeGhnical  education  in  the  several  Provinces. 

35 


4B8  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

(d)  That  at  least  one  central  fuUy-eqiiippecl  Polytechnic 
Institute  should  be  established  in  the  countiy  with  minor  technical 
schools  and  colleges  in  the  different  Provinces. 

Poverty 

XV.  Eosolved — That  this  Congress  deplores  fresh  outbreaks 
of  famine  in  several  j^arts  of  the  country,  and  holding  that  the 
fi-eijuent  occurrences  of  famines  are  due  to  the  great  poverty  of  the 
people,  which  forces  large  numbers  of  them  to  throw  themselves  on 
State  help  at  the  first  touch  of  scarcity,  it  again  urges  the  G-ovem- 
ment  of  India  and  the  Secretary  of  State  to  institute  a  detailed 
enquiry  into  the  economic  'condition  of  a  few  typical  villages  in 
different  parts  of  India. 

(1 )  This  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  property  of  an  agri- 
cultural country  like  India  cannot  be  secured  without  a  definite 
limitation  of  the  State  demand  on  land,  such  as  was  proposed  b}'' 
Lord  Canning  in  1862,  or  by  Lord  Ripon  in  1882. 

(2)  It  regrets  tliat  Lord  Curzon,  in  his  Land  Eesolution  of 
1902,  failed  to  recognise  any  such  limitation,  and  declined  to  accept 
the  suggestions  of  the  Eight  Hon.  Sir  Eichard  Garth  and  other 
memorialists. 

(3)  It  holds  that  a  reasonable  and  definite  restriction  of  the 
State-demand,  and  not  the  restriction  on  tenants'  rights,  such  as 
has  found  favour  in  recent  j'ears,  is  the  true  remedy  for  the  growing 
imijoverishment  of  the  agricultural  population. 

Quarantine  at  Bombay 

XVI.  Eesolved — That  having  regard  to  the  fact  that  there  is 
ten  days  international  quarantine  in  existence  at  Kamran,  this 
Congress  holds  that  the  quarantine  of  five  days  imposed  at  the 
port  of  Bombay  upon  the  Musalman  pilgrims  before  embarking 
for  Jedda  is  unnecessary  and  vexatious,  and  produces  a  feeling  of 
discontent  ;  this  Congress,  therefore,  prays  that  the  quarantine 
imposed  at  Bombay  be  entirely  abolished. 

Provincial  Grievances 

XVII.  Eesolved — Tliat  ttiis  Congress,  coiicurritig  wirh  previous 
Congresses,  strongly  urges — 

(1)  The  constituti(m  of  the  Par.jal)  into  a  Eeguhition  Province. 

(2)  The  expaiision  and  reform  of  the  Panjab  Legislative 
Council  in  accordance  with  the  Indian  Council  Act  of  1892. 

(3)  The  establishment  of  a  Chartered  High  Court  of  Judica- 
ture in  the  Punjab. 


THE    TWENTY-llEST    CONGEESS  439 

(4)  The  Enactment  of  Legislation  for  Berar  by  the  Supreme 
Legislative  Council  and  not  by  Executive  order  of  the  Governor- 
General  in  Council. 

(5)  The  restoration,  to  the  people  of  the  Central  Provinces 
of  the  right  to  elect  their  representative  on  the  Supreme  Legislative 
Council  instead  of  his  being  nominated  by  the  Government. 

(6)  The  cancellation  of  the  Government  of  India  Notification 
of  2.5th  June,  1891,  in  the  Foreign  Department,  gagging  the  Press  in 
territories  under  British  administration  in  Native  States  as  being 
serious  infi-ingenient  of  the  liberty  of  the  Press  in  those  tracts. 

India    and  the  General  Election 

XVIIL  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  accord  its 
most  cordial  sujaport  to  the  candidature  of  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji 
for  North  Lambeth,  and  appeals  to  the  electors  of  that  constituency 
to  return  him  to  Parliament. 

Thanks  of  Congress 

XIX.  Eesolved —  That  this  Congress  desires  to  record  its  sense 
of  high  ap]ireciation  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Hon.  Mr.  G.  K. 
Gokhale,  C.  I.  E  ,  and  Lala  Lajpat  Rai  discharged  the  onerous  duties 
imposed  on  them  in  England. 

XXIII,  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  convey  to  Sir 
William  Wedderburn,  Bart.,  and  the  other  members  of  the  British 
Committee,  its  most  grateful  thanks  for  their  disinterested  services 
in  the  cause  of  India's  political  advancement. 

Appointment  of  the  Hon,  Mr.  Gokhale  as 
Delegate  to  England 

XX.  Resolved —  That  in  view  of  the  importance  of  urging  the 
more  pressing  proposals  of  the  Congress  on  the  attention  of  the 
authorities  in  England  at  the  present  juncture,  the  Congress 
appoints  its  President,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Gopal  Krishna  Gokhale, 
CLE  ,  as  its  delegate,  and  deputes  him  to  proceed  to  England  for 
this  purpose. 

Congress  Work 

XXI.  Resolved — That  a  Standing  Committee  of  the  Congress 
be  appointed  to  promote  the  objects  of  the  Congress  and  to  take 
such  steps  diu-ing  the  year  as  may  be  necessary  to  give  efEect  to  the 
Resolutions  of  the  Congress. 

That  the  following  gentlemen  be  appointed  members  of  the 
Standing  Committee  for  the  year  1906  : 

(1)  Hon.  Sir  Pherozeshah  Mehta,  K.C.I.E.  (Bombay). 

(2)  Hon.  Daji  Abaji  Khare  (Bombay). 


440  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

(3)  G.  Subramania  Iyer  Esq.  (Madras). 

(4^  Hon.   Nawab  Syed  Muhammad  (Madras). 

(.5)  Surendranath  Bannorji,  Esq    (Calcutta). 

(6)  A.  Choudhuri  Esq.  (Calcutta). 

(7)  Maulvi  Abdul  Kasim  (Burdwan). 

(8)  S.  Siuha  Esq.  (Bankipur). 

(9)  Hon.  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  (Allahabad). 

(10)  Munshi  Ganga  Prasad  Varma  (Lucknow). 

(11)  Lala  Lajpat  Rai  (Lahore). 

(12)  Lala  Harkishan  Lai  (Lahore). 

(13)  Rao  Bahadur  R.  N.  Mudholkar  (Amraoti)  ;')  ^^    S  e  c  r  e- 

/■,A\^^^Mir     1,     -L^        /r»       1       ^  i  >  taries  of  the 

(14)  D.  E.  Wacha  Esq.  (Bombay)  ;  and  t  r-  ,v,r,,;ffoc 
/t,-\  TT        •^r     /-I    Tr    /^   1 1    1      /^  T  T^    /T>          s  >  Committee. 

(15)  Hon.  Mr.  G.  K   Gokhale,  CLE.  (Poena).  J 

Formal 

XXII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  re-appoints  A.  0.  Hume 
Esq.,  C.B.,  to  be  General  Secretary,  and  D.  E.  Wacha  Esq.  and  the 
Hon.  Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale,  O.I.E.,  to  be  Joint  General  Secretaries 
for  the  ensuing  year. 

XXIV.  Resolved — That  the  Twenty-second  Indian  National 
Congress  do  assemble,  on  such  day  after  Christmas  Day,  1906,  as 
may  later  be  determined  on  at  Calcutta-. 


I 


CHAPTER  XXII 

Never  before  nor  since  1906,  has  the  Congress  seen 
such  a  gathering  as  that  which  assembled  at  Calcutta 
on  the  26th,  27th,  28th  and  29th  of  December  in  that 
memorable  year.  A  huge  Pavilion  was  erected  by 
the  Russa  Road,  Bhowanipur,  seating  16,000  persons, 
with  wide  passages  that  gave  standing  room  to 
another  4,000 ;  Bengal  had  been  roused  from  end  to 
end,  all  India  sympathised  with  her  wrongs,  and 
1,663  delegates  came  to  show  their  love.  They  came 
from  : 


Bengal 

.     686 

U.  P.   ... 

.     187 

Panjab 

C.  P.   (90),   Berar  (60), 
(1),  Secunderabad  (6) 
Bombay 
Madras             

Jaipi 
,  Bar 

"^  ay, 

)  galore 

Indoi 
(2). 

.     139 
e 

.     160 
.     262 
.     221 

Burma 

8 
1,663 

Only  once  has  this  number  been  overtopped,  in 
the  memorable  Congress  of  3889,  to  which  Charles 
Bradlaugh  came,  and  never  have  the  delegates  been 
so  evenly  distributed  as  on  this  occasion. 


442  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

The  welcome  given  to  the  President-elect  and 
past  Presidents,  as  they  came  on  to  the  platform  with 
the  Chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee,  Dr.  Rash 
Behari  Ghosh,  rang  out  from  20,000  throats,  and 
when  silence  was  obtained,  Mr.  Narendranath  Sen, 
the  patriot  Editor  of  The  Indian  Mirror,  opened  the 
proceedings  with  a  prayer,  and  two  men  choirs  and  a 
tliird  of  30  young  girls,  sang  National  songs.  Then 
Dr.  Rash  Behari  Ghosh  welcomed  the  delegates,  and 
spoke  with  deep  sorrow  in  that  the  year  had  robbed 
Bengal  of  two  of  her  best  beloved,  W.  C.  Bannerji 
and  Ananda  Mohan  Bose,  leaders  sorely  needed  now, 
compassed  as  they  were  with  dangers  and  darkness. 
They  had  been  afflicted  by  floods  and  famine,  but 
far  worse  were  the  political  perils  around  them. 
Lord  Curzon  had  found  India  compai-atively  content- 
ed, and  had  left  her  fermenting  with  unrest,  and  hi.s 
parting  gift  Avas  the  Partition  of  "  a  Province,  for 
which  he  had  always  dissembled  his  love  ". 

The  Partition  of  Beng-al  was  followed  by  Russian 
methods  of  Government,  with  this  difference,  that  the 
ofHcials  who  devised  them  wero  Englishmen,  while  the 
Russian  official  is  at  least  the  countryman  of  those  whom 
he  governs  or  misgoverns.  The  singing  of  national  songs 
and  even  the  cry  of  "  Bande  Mataram  "  were  forl)idden 
under  severe  penalties.  This  ordinance  was  fittingly 
succeeded  by  the  prosecution  of  schoolboys,  the  quarter- 
ing of  military  and  punitive  police,  the  prohibition  and 
forcible  dispersion  of  public  meetings,  and  these  high- 
handed proceedings  attained  their  crown  and  completion 
in  the  tragedy  at  Barisal,  when  the  Provincial  Conference 
was  dispersed  by  the  Police,  who  wantonly  broke  the 
peace  in  order,  I  imagine,  to  keep  the  peace.  Now, 
though  we  are  a  thorouglily    loyal  people  and  our  loyalty 


THE    TWENTT-SECOND    CONGRESS  443 

is  not  to  be  easily  shaken  because  it  is  founded  on  a  more 
solid  basis  than  mere  sentiment,  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  we  should  be  less  than  men  if  "we  could  for- 
get the  tragedy  of  that  day,  the  memory  of  which  will 
always  fill  us  with  shame  and  humiliation.  And  this  leads 
me  to  remark  that  it  was  not  cowardice  that  prevented 
oiar  young  men  from  retaliating.  It  was  their  respect 
for  law  and  order — their  loyalty  to  their  much  reviled 
leaders  that  kept  them  in  check.  All  this  has  now 
happily  been  put  an  end  to.  But  as  soon  as  the  cloud 
began  to  lift,  those  Anglo-Indians  who  are  obliged  to 
live  in  this  land  of  regrets  merely  from  a  high  sense  of 
duty  were  seized  with  the  fear  that  their  monopoly  of 
philanthropic  work  might  be  interrupted,  and  immediate- 
ly commenced  a  campaign  of  slander  and  misrepresen- 
tation which  in  virulence  and  mendacity  has  never  been 
equalled.  I.  C.  S.'s  in  masks  and  editors  of  Anglo- 
Indian  newspapers  forthwith  began  to  warn  the  English 
people  that  we  were  thoroughly  disloyal,  ferreting  out 
sedition  with  an  ingenuity  which  would  have  done  no 
discredit  to  the  professors  of  Laputa. 

He  then  spoke  of  Swadesliism,  in  which  "  you  see 
the  cradle  of  a  New  India.  To  speak  of  such  a  move- 
ment as  disloyal  is  a  lie  and  calumny.  We  love 
England,  with  all  her  faults,  but  we  love  India  more. 
If  this  is  disloyalty,  we  are,  I  am  proud  to  say, 
disloyal."  He  closed  with  some  wise  words  of  counsel 
to  the  younger  men,  furious  with  the  wrongs  they 
suffered,  of  grave  warning  to  England,  coupled  with  a 
declaration  of  his  belief  in  her  justice. 

Raja  Peary  Mohan  Mukerji  proposed,  the  Hon. 
Nawab  Syed  Muhammad  seconded,  Mr.  C.  Sankaran 
Nair — remarking  that  "  the  people  of  this  country 
have  resolved  to  take  the  development  of  its  resources 
into  their  own  hands  "—supported  the  election  of 
Mr.   Dadabhai    Naoroji,   who   took   the   chair  amid  a 


444  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOE    FREEDOM 

scene  of  unparalleled  enthusiasm.  The  noble  veteran 
spoke  a  few  words  of  thanks,  and  then  gave  his  speech 
to  Mr.  Gokhale  to  read,  his  82  years  not  permitting 
him  to  address  an  audience  of  20,000  people. 

The  President,  as  is  his  wont,  interspersed  his 
speech  with  deadly  quotations,  buttressing  every 
position  he  took  up.  He  regarded  the  work  of  the 
Congress  as  twofold  :  "  First  and  most  important  is 
the  question  of  the  policy  and  principles  of  the  system 
of  Government  under  which  India  is  to  be  governed 
in  the  future."  Secondly,  to  watch  the  present  system 
of  administration,  and  introduce  reform  till  it  was 
"  radically  altered  and  based  upon  right  principles 
and  policy ".  He  addressed  himself  chiefly  to  the 
first.  Then  he  built  up  his  argument.  Indians  **are 
British  citizens,  and  are  entitled  to  and  claim  all 
British  citizens'  rights  ".  The  first  of  these  is 
Freedom.      Gladstone   said :    "  Freedom    is    the    very 

breath  of  our  life We  stand  for  liberty,  our  policy 

is  the  policy  of  freedom."  The  first  grant  of  Bombay  to 
the  East  India  Company  in  1669,  declared  all  living 
thereon  and  their  descendants  to  be  free  as  though 
"  living  and  born  in  England  ".  The  Boers,  in  1901, 
Avere  called  fellow-citizens,  and  had  already  reached 
Self-G.overnment ;  India  had  not  obtained  it  200  years 
after  her  becoming  connected  with  England.  When 
objection  was  raised  to  his  name  on  the  register  of 
electors  in  England,  the  Revising  Barrister  had  brushed 
it  aside,  on  the  ground  that  as  an  Indian  he  was  a 
British  citizen.  The  Queen's  letter  to  Lord  Derby, 
bidding  him  draw  up  the  Proclamation  of  1858,  desired 


THE    TWENTY-SECOND    CONGRESS  445 

him  to  point  to  the  privileges  "  the  Indians  will 
receive  in  being  placed  on  an  equality  with  the  sub- 
jects of  the  British  Crown  ".  She  bound  herself  to 
Indians  "  by  the  same  obligations  of  duty  which  bind 
us  to-*  our  other  subjects,"  and  she  telegraphed  a 
message  to  be  read  in  open  Darbar  that  "  the  great 
principles  of  liberty,  equity  and  justice  are  secured 
to  them".  Edward  VII,  in  1906,  said  that  he 
hoped  that  "  throughout  my  dominions  the  grant  of 
free  institutions  will  be  followed,"  etc.  These  rights 
were  due  to  them,  as  a  reparation  for  all  they  had 
suffered.  Moreover  the  British  "  would  not  allow 
themselves  to  be  subjected  for  a  single  day  to  such 
an  unnatural  system  of  Government  as  the  one  which 
has  been  imposed  upon  India  for  nearly  a  century 
and  a  half  ". 

He  then  claimed  for  Indians  in  India  all  the 
control  that  Englishmen  had  in  England.  This 
was  a  necessity,  in  order  to  remedy  the  great 
economic  evil  which  was  at  the  root  of  Indian  poverty. 
It  was  "  absolutely  necessary  ^'  for  the  progress  and 
welfare  of  the  Indian  p.eople.  "  The  whole  matter 
can  be  comprised  in  one  word,  Self-Government,  or 
Swaraj,  like  that  of  the  United'  Kingdom  or  the 
Colonies."  When  should  a  beginning  be  made 
which  should  automatically  develop  into  full  Self- 
Government  ?  At  once.  "  Not  only  has  the  time 
fully  arrived,  but  had   arrived  long  past." 

Simultaneous  examinations  should  at  once  be 
held  for  the  Public  Service,  so  as  to  change  the 
administration    from     foreign    to    Indian,    and    then 


446  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

transferred  entirely  to  India.  Free  and  compulsory 
education  must  be  given.  Representation^  real  and 
living,  must  be  granted.  Were  Indians  to  remain 
"  under  the  barbarous  system  of  despotism,  unworthy 
of  British  instincts,  principles  and  civilisation  "  ?  Just 
financial  relations  must  "  be  established  at  once. 
They  require  no  delay  or  preparation.  It  only  needs 
the  determination  and  will  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment to  do  justice."  If  the  British  made  up 
"their  mind  to  do  their  duty"  they  could  "  devise 
means  to  accord  Self-Government  within  no  distant 
time  ".  He  did  not  despair,  but  they  must  work,  and 
agitate  both  in  England  and  India. 

Agitation  is  the  Lfe  and  soul  of  the  whole  political, 
social  and  industrial  history  of  England.  It  is  by  agitation 
the  English  have  accomplished  their  most  glorious  achieve- 
ments, their  prosperity,  their  liberties  and,  in  short,  their 
first  place  among  the  Nations  of  the  world.  The  whole  life 
of  England  every  day,  is  all  agitation.  You  do  not  open 
your  paper  in  the  morning  but  read  from  beginning  to 
end  it  is  all  agitation — Congresses  and  Conferences,  Meet- 
ings and  Resolutions  without  end — for  a  thousand  and  one 
movements  local  and  national.  From  the  Prime  Minister 
to  the  humblest  politician,  his-  occupation  is  agitation  for 
everything  he  wants  to  accomplish.  The  whole  Parliament, 
Press,  and  Platform*  is  simply  all  agitation.  Agitation  is 
the  civilised  peaceful  weapon  f)f  moral  force,  and  infinitely 

preferable  to  brute  physical  force,  when  possible 

Agitate;  agitate  means  infoi'm.  Inform,  inform  the 
Indian  people  what  their  rights  are  and  how  and  why 
they  should  obtain  tliem,  and  inform  the  British  people 
of  the  rights  of  the  Indian  people,  and  why  they  should 
grant  them.  If  we  do  not  speak  they  say  we  are  satisfied. 
If  we  speak  we  become  agitators !  The  Indian  people  are 
properly  asked  to  act  constitutionally,  while  the  Govern- 
ment remains  unconstitutional  and  despotic. 


THE    TWENTY-SECOND    CONGRESS  447 

Finally,  he  appealed  for  union  between  Hindus  and 

Mnhammadans,  for  Indian  emancipation  depended  on 

this.      Social    Reform   and   Industrial   progress   were 

also  needed. 

Self-Governraent    is    the    only  and  chief  remedy.     In 
Self-Grovernment  lie    our   hope,   strength   and    greatness. 

I  do   not    know  what  good  fortune  may  be  in  store 

for  me  during  the  short  period  that  may  be  left  to  me, 
and  if  I  can  leave  a  word  of  affection  and  devotion  for 
my  country  and  countrymen  I  say  :  Be  united,  persevere, 
and  achieve  Self-Government,  so  that  the  millions  now 
perishing  by  poverty,  famine  and  plague,  and  the  scores 
of  millions  that  are  starving  on  scanty  subsistence  may 
be  saved,  and  India  may  once  more  occupy  her  proud 
position  of  yore  among  the  greatest  and  civilised  Nations 
of  the  West. 

Bande  Mataram  was  sung,  by  the  girls'  choir,  the 
audience  standing,  and  the  Congress  adjourned,  after 
the  Subjects  Committee  had  been  elected. 

The  second  day  saw  an  equally  crowded  Pavilion,  and 
after  the  singing  of  patriotic  songs,  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha 
read  some  messages  of  goodwill  from  W.  T.  Stead, 
Dr.  Rutherford,  a  number  of  members  of  Parliament, 
and,  most  interesting  of  all,  from  Natal  and  the 
Ti-ansvaal,  sending  little  contributions  to  the 
Congress,  and  from  "  the  Indian  inhabitants  of 
trerman  South  Africa,  sending  Rs.  285  to  help  the 
cause  of  their  Motherland  ". 

The  President  then  moved  Resolution  I,  of  grief 
over  the  heavy  death-roll  of  the  year,  Mr.  W.  C. 
Bannerji,  Mr.  Justice  Budruddin  Tyabji,  and  Mr. 
Ananda  Mohan  Bose,  all  ex-Presidents  of  the  Congress, 
and  Mr.  Viraraghavachariar,  one  of  the  leading 
workers  in  Madras. 


448  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Resolution  II  dealt  with  tlie  wrongs  inflicted  on 
Indians  in  the  Colonies,  and  was  moved  by  Mr.  P.  R. 
Sundara  Aiyar,  lamenting  that  there  were  50,000 
Indian  slaves  in  Natal,  and  many  others  else- 
where in  Africa,  and  saying  that  British  Indians 
were  discriminated  against,  Portuguese  and  French 
Indian  subjects  having  more  rights.  Lord  Lansdowne 
had  said  that  "  among  the  many  misdeeds  of  the 
South  African  Republic,  I  do  not  know  that  any  fills 
me  with  more  indignation  than  its  treatment  of  these 
Indians  ".  That  was  before  the  War.  The  Resolution 
was  seconded  by  Mr.  H.  A.  Wadia,  supported  by 
Mr.  Madanjit,  Mr.  C.  Y.  Chintamani  and  Mr.  Lalit 
Mohan  Ghosal,  and  carried. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  B.  N.  Sarma  moved  Resolution  III  on 
the  necessity  for  retrenching  Indian  expenditure,  and 
showed  that  between  1893-94  and  1906-07  the  gross 
expenditure  had  risen  from  90  crores  of  rupees  to  134 
crores  of  rupees  annually.  The  net  expenditure  in 
1861-62  was  34  crores,  and  in  1884-85  it  was  41  ci'ores, 
an  increase  of  16  per  cent,  while  the  growth  of 
population  was  J  4  per  cent.  But  if  we  take  from 
1884-85  to  1904-04,  we  find  the  increase  of  expenditure 
was  70  per  cent,  and  of  population,  at  the  highest,  of 
18  per  cent.  The  currency  policy  of  the  Empire 
made  the  silver  in  the  rupee  worth  only  12  annas, 
so  that  the  ryot,  to  pay  Rs.  3  in  taxation,  had  to  sell 
produce  worth  Rs.  4.  During  these  twenty  years, 
military  expenditure  had  risen  from  17  crores  to  32 
crores,  almost  cent,  pei-  cent.  And  of  this,  nearly 
7    crores   was    spent    in    England.     With    this    great 


THE    TWENTY-SECOND    CONGRESS  449 

increase  of  military  expenditure  went  the  worst 
famines  ever  known  in  British  India,  causing  some 
11  million  deaths.  Contrast  this  with  the  2  million 
pounds  spent  in  education,  while  England  spent  1&- 
millions  on  education  in  her  own  land. 

Mr.  G.  A.  Natesan  seconded,  and  pointed  out  that 
of  the  90  crores  of  military  expenditure  70  crores  had 
been  spent  on  wars  outside  the  Indian  frontiers  and 
in  parts  of  India  and  elsewhere,  all  against  the  real 
interests  of  India.  The  Welby  Commission  had  re- 
commended that  England  should  contribute  to  the 
cost  and  that  was  agreed  to,  but  the  pay  of  British 
soldiers  in  India  was  raised,  which  took  from  India 
thrice  the  contribution  made  by  England.  Sir  Henry 
Brackenbury  said,  before  that  Commission  : 

If  it  were  desired  to  maintain  British  Rule  in  India 
only  for  India's  sake,  then,  I  think,  it  would  be  fair  to 
make  India  pay  to  the  utmost  farthing-  that  could  be 
shown  was  due  to  Britain's  rule  over  India ;  but  I  cannot 
but  feel  that  Britain's  interest  in  keeping  India  under 
British  rule  is  enormous.  India  affords  employment 
to  thousands  of  Britons.  India  employs  millions  of  British 
capital,  and  Indian  commerce  is  of  immense  value  to 
Great  Britain.  Therefore  it  seems  to  me  that,  India 
being  held  by  Great  Britain,  not  only  for  India's  sake, 
Great  Britain  should  pay  a  share  of  the  expenditure  for 
this  purpose  ;  and  in  estimating  what  that  share  should 
be,  I  think  that  England  should  behave  generously 
England  is  a  rich  country,  and  India  is  a  poor  country. 

Mr.  N.  M.  Ranade  supported,  urging  that  the 
Government  should  repeal  the  Arms  Act  and  give 
permission  for  Volunteering,  and  should  give  fuller 
employment  to  Indians,  so  ■  reducing  expenditure. 
The  Resolution  was  carried. 
36 


450  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Resolution  IV,  separation  of  Judicial  from  Executive 
Functions,  was  moved  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Krishnan  Nair, 
seconded  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Ambikacharan  Mozumdar, 
supported  by  seven  other  speakers,  despite  its  fami- 
liarity, and  carried.  Mr.  Mozumdar  said  that  he  was 
chosen  as  seconder,  because  there  was  probably  no 
other  man  in  the  Congress  "  who  possesses  the  asinine 
patience  of  talking  more  than  twelve  times,  and  each 
time  only  to  stocks  and  stones ".  Yet  people  ask 
why  we  want  Home  Rule  !  The  Resolution  was  carried 
with  one  dissentient. 

Khan  Bahadur  Moulvi  Muhammad  Yusuf  moved 
Resolution  V,  asking  that  a  Commission  should  be 
appointed  by  the  Grovernment,  which  should  see  if  the 
decisions  of  the  Privy  Council  against  the  validity  of 
the  Wakf-i-ala-aulad  were  consonant  with  the  law, 
usages,  and  sentiments  of  Muhammadans,  and  if  they 
were  not,  that  steps  should  be  taken  to  legalise  the 
Musalman  view.  The  Hon.  Mr.  Baikunthanath  Sen 
seconded,  pointing  out  that  the  decisions  had  curtailed 
the  power  of  Muhammadans  to  make  provision  for 
their  children.  Mr.  A.  M.  Jinnah,  supporting,  wel- 
comed the  Resolution  as  showing  that  the  Musalmans 
could  make  known  their  grievances  through  the  Con- 
gress. Moulvi  Abdul  Kasim  and  Mr.  S.  B.  Patel 
supported,  and  the  Resolution  was  carried.  The 
-Congress  adjourned. 

The  third  day  began  with  National  songs,  and  the 
tarrival  of  H.  H.  the  Gaekwar  of  Baroda,  accom- 
panied by  his  Prime  Minister,  Mr.  R.  C.  Dutt,  was 
•warmly  welcomed. 


THE    TWENTY-SECOND    CONGKESS  451 

Nawab  Khuja  Athikulla  of  Dacca  moved  Resolution 
VI,  against  the  Partition  of  Bengal,  and  declared 
that  Hindus  and  Muhamniadans  should  enter  a  united 
protest  against  it. 

Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  seconded,  expressing 
their  disappointment  with  the  biographer  of  Cobden 
and  Bright,  but  making  excuses  for  him  as  breathing 
an  undiluted  bureaucratic  atmosphere.  Sir  William 
Wedderburn  asked  them  to  wait. 

Wait  we  raust ;  what  else  can  we  do  P  Waiting  upon 
the  will  of  our  rulers  has  been  our  lot  for  the  last  three 
centuries.  We  shall  certainly  wait  ;  but  not  in  meek 
submission  to  the  will  of  our  rulers  as  the  decree  of  an 
inexorable  fate,  but  with  the  firm  resolve  to  overcome 
that  fate,  and  work  out  our  salvation.  Our  rulers  must 
recognise  the  new  spirit,  born,  it  may' be,  of  the  huge 
blunder  of  the  Partition,  vibrating  through  our  hearts, 
uplifting  us  to  a  higher  plane  of  political  eliort.  We  are, 
Sirs,  no  longer  Orientals  of  the  old  type,  content  to 
grovel  under  the  weight  of  an  overmastering  fate,  but  we 
are  Orientals  of  the  new  school,  enfranchised  by  English 
culture  and  English  influences,  revivified  by  the 
example  of  China,  Japan,  and  last,  but  not  the 
least,  of  Persia,  and  as  Orientals  of  the  new  school 
we  believe  that  Nations  by  themselves  are  made. 

The  Resolution  was  supported  by  Mr.  R.  N. 
Mudholkar,  who  declared  that  Bengal  was  divided 
because  it  was  too  strong  for  the  bureaucracy,  and 
that  until  re-union  was  conceded  "  we  shall  go  on 
agitating,  striving,  and  doing  everything  that  lies 
within  the  limits  of  law  till  we  obtain  redress  of  our 
grievances  ".  After  two  more  gentlemen  had  spoken, 
the  Resolution  was  carried. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Ambikacharan  Mozumdar  moved 
Resolution  YII,   declaring   that  in   view   of  the  little 


452  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

voice  tlie  people  had  in  administration,  and  the  lack 
of  consideration  shown  by  Government  to  their  re- 
presentations, the  Boj'cott  was  legitimate  as  a  protest 
against  Partition.  Mr.  Eepin  Chandra  Pal  seconded 
in  a  vigorous  speech,  and  said  that  it  was  not  a  mere 
boycott  of  goods,  but  one  of  honorary  offices  and 
associations  with  the  Government  in  East  Bengal. 
Not  one  leader  of  the  people  would  associate  with  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  in  any  legislative  work.  The  Hon. 
Mr.  L.  A.  Govindaraghava  Aiyar  justified  the  use 
of  the  Boycott  in  Bengal,  but  did  not  think  it  could 
be  used  ordinarily  in  other  Provinces.  Mr.  A.  Chou- 
dhuri  pointed  out  that  the  Resolution  was  limited  to 
Bengal,  that  was  smarting  under  a  great  injury, 
and  had  a  right  to  use  the  Boycott  as  a  political 
weajDon. 

The  Hon.  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya,  in 
supporting,  said  that  Bengal  was  justified  in  using 
the  Boycott  as  a  weapon,  but  the  Congress  could  not 
be  committed  to  the  view  of  Mr.  Pal  and  the  ex- 
tension of  the  Boycott,  as  he  described  it.  He  hoped 
the  other  Provinces  Avould  never  be  driven  to  the 
necessity  of  using  it,  but  that  reforms  needed  would 
be  gained  witliont  it.  The  Hon.  Mr.  Gokhale  said 
that  they  were  bound  only  by  the  Resolutions  of  the 
Congress,  and  the  Resolution  declared  that  the  boy- 
cott movement  nuirking  the  resentment  of  the  people 
against  the  Partition  of  Bengal  was  and  is  legitimate. 
They  were  not  bound  by  individual  sj)eeches.  The 
Resolution  was  carried  with  one  dissentient  and  one 
neutral. 


THE    TWENTY-SECOND    CONGEESS  453 

Mr.  Naoroji  left  the  Hall  for  half  an  hour,  and  his 
place  was  taken  by  Mr.  R.  C.  Dutt.  Resolutions  VIII 
and  IX  were  postponed,  and  the  Resolutions  on 
Education  taken. 

Resolution  X  protested  ao-ainst  the  educational 
policy  of  the  Grovernment,  restricting  the  spread  of 
higher  education,  and  asked  for  free  education,  to  be 
gradually  made  compulsory,  larger  grants,  technical 
education,  and  the  removal  of  the  restrictions  on 
private  enterprise  in  education.  It  was  moved  by 
Dewan  Bahadur  Ambalal  S.  Desai,  seconded  by 
Mr.  Raghubar  Dayal,  supported  by  Mr.  C.  Karuna- 
kara  Menon,  Messrs.  M.  K.  Padhya,  S.  V.  Khare, 
Harischandra  Vissevdas,  G.  A.   Patel,  and  carried. 

Resolution  XI  declared  that  the  time  had  come  to 
organise  National  Education,  Literary,  Scientific  and 
Technical,  for  both  boys  and  girls,  on  National  lines  and 
under  National  control.  This  Resolution  was  appro- 
priately moved  by  Mr.  Ilirendranath  Datta,  the  Hon. 
Secretary  of  the  National  Council  of  Education.  He 
said  that  Self-Government  was  a  three-faced  deity, 
political,  industrial  and  educational.  He  quoted  as 
describing  Indian  education  what  had  been  said  of 
Irish  : 

"  Departments  of  Education  in  Ireland,  primary, 
secondary,  university,  are  directly  controlled  by  the 
British  Government.  The  language  of  Ireland,  the  his- 
tory of  Ireland,  the  economics  of  Ireland,  the  possibilities 
and  rights  of  Ireland  find  no  place  in  the  curriculum." 
Exactly  the  same  here.  "  Education  in  Ireland  encumbers 
the  intellect,  chills  the  fancy,  and  enervates  the  body.  It 
destroys  the    fancy.     It  does  not  acquaint  the  youth  with 


454  HOW   INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

the    traditions    of   his    country,    nor    does    it    afford    him 
facilities  for  physical  culture." 

After  describing  what  they  were  doing  in  Bengal, 
lie  concluded  : 

Trust   not  your  education  to  aliens.      In  Native  souls 
and  Native  hands,  the  only  hopes  of  succour  rest. 

Mr.  M.  P.  Venkatappiah  seconded,  and  laid  stress 
on  tlie  self-reliance  emhodied  in  the  resolution,  and 
it  struck  the  note  of  Nationalism.  The  Resolution  was 
supported  by  Messrs.  S.  K.  Nair,  C.  V.  Vaidya,  J.  N. 
Roy,  Prof.  V.  G.  Bijapurkar,  Moulvi  Ismail  Hasan 
Sheraji,  and  Mr.  M.  K.  Patel,  and  was  carried. 

Resolution  VIII  was  then  moved  by  Rao  Bahadur 
P.  Ananda  Charlu  ;  it  advocated  Swadeshi,  and  the 
veteran  politician  urged  its  adoption  specially  by  the 
well-to-do,  and  suggested  an  association  of  rich  men 
who  should  give  bounties  to  industries,  as  the 
Government  would  not  do  it.  The  Hon.  Pandit 
Madan  Mohan  seconded,  pointing  out  that  the  raw 
material  left  the  country  and  came  back  as  manufac- 
tured goods ;  if  they  were  free,  they  would  adopt 
protection,  as  all  countries  did  when  industries  were 
nascent.  It  was  a  religious  as  well  as  a  patriotic  duty 
to  support  indigenous  industries.  Mr.  B.  G.  Tilak 
supported,  saying  that  they,  the  middle  classes,  were 
the  greatest  consumers  of  foreign  goods.  Self-help, 
determination  and  sacrifice  were  needed.  Lala 
Lajpat  Rai  urged  that  Indians  should  keep  their 
capital  in  tlieir  own  hands  and  utilise  it,  and  arrange 
for  the  distribution  of  the  articles  they  produced. 
Messrs.  Khaja   Muhammad  Noor  Golam  Ahmed  Khan 


THE    TWENTY-SECOND    CONGEESS  455 

and   V.  R.  Joshi    supported,  and   the  Resolution   was 
carried. 

Then  came  Resohition  IX,  demanding  Colonial  Sel£- 
Government,  and  laying  down  four  steps  to  it,  to  be 
taken  immediately  (this,  in  1906).  The  speeches  were 
very  short,  the  time  being  late,  so  Mr.  A.  Choudhuri 
only  added  a  few  sentences  in  moving,  and  the  Hon. 
Mr.  L.  A.  Govindaraghava  briefly  pointed  to  the 
action,  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  of  the  United  States. 
Dr.  S.  K.  Miillick  remarked  that  a  paper  had  said  that 
the  English  had  come  here  like  the  Aryans  and 
Mughals,  and  had  come  to  stay ;  then  let  them,  like 
their  predecessors,  identify  themselves  with  the  people. 
Messrs.  Bomanji  Patel,  V.  A.  Pandit,  S.  B.  Mitra„ 
A.  Eamanna,  P.  C.  Maitra,  all  supported.  Mr.  M.  A.. 
Jinnah  proposed  and  Mr.  M.  Abdul  Kasim  seconded 
an  amendment,  cancelling  a  reservation  in  the 
original  Resolution,  regarding  the  backward  class  ;  it 
was  supported  by  Mr.  Haiiz  Abdul  Rahim  and 
accepted,  and  the  amended  Resolution  was  carried. 

The  President  moved  from  the  Chair  the  Reso- 
lution re-appointing  Messrs.  Hume,  D.  E.  Wacha 
and  G.  K.  Gokhale,  which  was  duly  carried  (and 
should  be  Resolution  XI  A .)  He  moved  also  Resolution 
XII,  thanking  Sir  William  Wedderburn  and  the 
British  Committee,  and  the  Congress  adjourned. 

On  meeting  on  the  fourth  day,  the  Congress  was 
startled  by  the  news  that  the  Rt.  Hon.  Mr.  Samuel 
Smith,  who  had  been  present  on  the  first  day, 
having  come  to  India  to  preside  at  the  All-India 
Temperance  Conference,    had   suddenly  passed  away. 


456  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Mr.  Surendraiiath  Bannerji  moved  a  Resolution  of 
sorrow  (No.  XIII),  seconded  by  Sir  Balcliandra,  and 
put  with  a  few  words  from  the  President,  who  had 
known  him  for  40  years.  It  was  carried  by  the 
audience  standing. 

Mr.  C.  Yijiaraghavachari  moved  Eesolution  XIY, 
on  Permanent  Settlement,  and  protesting  against  the 
view  that  the  Land  tax  was  rent.  Land  in  India 
had  never  belonged  to  the  King ;  the  Sages  had 
said  that  the  world  belonged  to  those  who  were 
born  on  it ;  private  property  was  gained  by 
cultivation,  and  the  King,  who  was  ordained  for 
pi'otection,  received  a  share  from  the  cultivators 
for  his  services.  The  idea  that  land  belonged 
to  the  King  was  western  and  feudal,  not  Indian. 
Mr.  Gokaran  Misra  seconded,  and  Mr.  Mehta 
Bahadurchand  supported.  Mr.  Raoji  Govind  drew 
attention  to  the  shortening  of  the  period  between 
Settlements  in  Hoshangabad,  his  district.  It  had 
been  30  years  ;  it  was  now  12.  When  it  came  under 
Britain,  the  Government  took  Rs.  2,56,600  ;  it  rose 
:after  20  years  to  Rs.  2,70,000.  After  30  years  it  was 
reduced  to  Rs.  1,88,000,  as  the  people  could  not  pay, 
and  was  again  reduced  to  Rs.  1,68,000.  During  the 
last  30  years,  it  rose,  Avith  cesses,  to  Rs.  4,87,944, 
and  at  the  current  Settlement  to  Rs.  9,30,257.  In 
1893-94,  under  the  last.  Government  took  as  tax 
Rs.  4,87,000  out  of  Rs.  1 1,33,000,  rents  paid  by  tenants, 
leaving  Rs.  6,46,000  to  the  Malguzars.  In  1896,  the 
re-Settlement,  the  tenant-rents  were  Rs.  11,42,000, 
and   the   Government  took  Rs.  9,30,000,  leaving  only 


THE    TWENTY-SECOND    CONGRESS  457 

Rs.  2,12,000.  Mr.  Desmukh  added  a  few  words  on 
the  land  policy  of  Lord  Curzon,  "  destructive  to  the 
people  and  suicidal  to  the  Grovernment/'  and  the 
Resolution  was  carried. 

Mr.  G.  Subraraania  Iyer  moved,  Mr.  Baikuntha- 
nath  Sen  seconded,  and  Pandit  Ramanath  supported, 
Resolution  XV,  conveying  the  thanks  of  the  Congress 
for  his  services  in  England  to  Mr.  Grokhale,  who 
answered  in  a  short  speech,  when  the  great  ovation 
which  greeted  him  had  subsided,  saying  what  strong 
hope  he  felt  from  the  advent  of  the  new  Govern- 
ment to  power,  with  a  democratic  House  of  Commons. 

Then  the  Hon.  Mr.  D.  A.  Khare  moved  Resolution 
XVI,  containing  a  Constitution  for  the  Congress,  to 
be  tried  for  a  year ;  it  recommended  (a)  the  formation 
of  Provincial  Congress  Committees,  which  should  form 
District  Committees ;  {h)  An  All-India  Congress 
Standing  Committee;  (c)  two  alternative  schemes  for 
selecting  a  President ;  and  (d)  A  Subjects  Committee 
for  settling  the  programme  of  the  Congress  each  year. 
Four  members  spoke  supporting  it  and  it  was  carried, 
the  delegates  from  each  Province  being  asked  to  send 
up  names  for  the  All-India  Committee.  Most  of  this 
was   incorporated  in  the   Constitution  framed  in  1908. 

A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  President  was  proposed  by 
Mr.  Lai  Mohan  Ghose,  and  he  was  garlanded  and 
bestrewn  with  flowers  amid  thunders  of  applause.  A 
Swadeshi  umbrella  from  Poona  was  unfurled  and 
held  over  him  for  a  moment,  and  then  he  said  a  few 
words  of  thanks.  He  reminded  them  that,  in  its  22nd 
Session,    the     Congress    had     placed    before    itself   a 


458  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

definite  goal — Self-Government^  Swaraj.  Now  it 
was  for  the  younger  generation  to  reach  it.  The 
Hon.  Mr.  Chitnavis  invited  the  Congress  to  Nagpur, 
for  its  1907  meeting,  and  the  Twenty-second  National 
Congress  "  dispersed  amidst  scenes  of  the  wildest 
enthusiasm  and  rejoicings  ". 

Alas  !  Coercion  was  to  do  its  deadly  work  during 
the  approaching  year.  The  seeds  sown  by  Lord 
Curzon  were  to  ripen  into  their  harvest  of  dragon- 
teetli.  The  strongest  and  furthest-sighted  men  were 
to  hold  to  their  old  ideals  of  constitutional  work  and 
steady  progress.  Others,  maddened  by  the  repressive 
measures  adopted,  were  to  cause  a  partition  worse 
than  that  of  Lord  Curzon,  a  division  of  the  National 
Party,  one  part  holding  to  the  group  that  refused  to 
despair  of  appealing  to  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
the  other  which  became  frankly  antagonistic  to  all 
co-operation  with  the  British  Government.  And 
beyond  these,  loomed  up  the  Anarchist  Party  with  the 
bomb  and  revolver  for  its  methods,  the  incarnation  of 
blind  hatred,  without  constructive  policy,  the  mad 
efforts  of  lads,  dreaming  of  winning  Liberty  for  their 
country,  and  succeeding  only  in  committing  a  few 
useless  crimes.  In  the  scales  of  History  shall  all 
these  be  weighed.  Government,  Moderates,  Extre- 
mists, Anarchists,  and  to  each  shall  be  assigned  their 
own  place. 

RESOLUTIONS 
Condolence 

I.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  place  on  record 
its  sense  of  the  great  loss  wliich  the  Congress  and  the  country  at 
large     have     sustained     by     the     death   of    Mr.    W.    C.     Bonnerji, 


THE    TWENTY-SECOND    CONGRESS  459 

Mr.  Justice  Budruddin  Tyabji,  and  Mr.  Ananda  Mohan  Bose, 
ex-Presidents  of  the  Congres-s,  and  Mr.  M.  Viraraghava  Chariar  of 
Madras.  Their  great  public  services  and  the  extimple  of  duty  and 
of  self-sacrificing  devotion  which  they  presented  in  their  lives 
entitle  them  to  the  lasting  gratitude  of  the  country ; 

That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  Resolution  be  forwarded  to  the 
families  of  the  late  Messrs.  Bannerji,  Tyabji,  Bose,  and  M. 
Viraraghava  Chariar,  over  the  signature  of  the  President  of  the 
Congress. 

Indians  in  the   Colonies 

II.  Resolved— That  this  Congress,  while  noting  with  satis- 
faction the  action  of  the  Impei-ial  Grovernment  in  disallowing  for 
the  present  the  proposed  Ordinnnce  against  British  Indians  in 
the  Transvaal,  desires  to  give  exiiression  to  its  grave  apprehension 
that  unless  the  Imperial  Government  continues  to  extend  its  firm 
protection  to  the  British  Indian  Community,  the  policy  of  the 
Ordinance  is  almost  certain  to  be  enforced  as  soon  as  arrangements 
under  the  Constitution  recently  granted  are  completed ; 

That  this  Congress  also  places  on  record  its  sense  of  deep 
regret  and  indignation  that  the  people  of  this  country  should  be 
subjected  to  harassing  nnd  degrading  restrictions  and  denied  the 
ordinary  rights  of  British  citizenship  in  His  Majesty's  Colonies, 
and  the  Congress  expresses  its  firm  conviction  that  such  a  policy  is 
fraught  with  serious  danger  to  the  best  interests  of  the   Empire. 

Finance 

III.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  renews  its  protest  against 
the  excessive  and  alarming  growth  of  military  charges  in  recent 
years  and  their  undue  prei^onderance  in  the  public  expenditure 
of  the   country  ; 

That  this  Congress  is  of  ojiinion  that,  as  the  military 
expenditure  of  the  country  is  determined,  not  solely  by  its  own 
military  needs  and  requirements,  but  also  by  the  exigencies  of 
British  supremacy  and  British  policy  in  the  East,  it  is  only  fair 
that  a  reasonable  share  of  such  expenditure  should  be  borne  by 
the  British  Exchequer ; 

That  this  Congress  strongly  urges  that  by  a  substantial  reduction 
of  military  expenditure  and  by  the  steady  substitution  of  the  Indian 
for  the  European  agency  in  the  Public  Service,  funds  should  be  set 
free  to  be  devoted  to  the  promotion  of  education  in  all  its  branches, 
to  improve  sanitation  and  to  the  relief  of  the  ryot's  burdens,  such 
as  a  furtlier  reduction  of  the  Salt-tax,  a  reduction  of  the  Land 
Revenue  demand  of  the  State,  and  measures  for  dealing  with 
agricultural  indebtedness. 


460  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOE    TEEEDOM 

Separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive  Functions 

IV.  Resolved — That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the 
separation  of  the  Judicial  from  the  Executive  functions,  which  is 
admittedly  necessary  in  the  interests  of  crood  government  and  sound 
judicial  administration,  should  no  longer  be  deferred. 

Yalidity  of  Wakf-i-ala-aulad 

V.  Resolved — That  in  view  of  the  general  opinion  ammigst 
Muhammadans  that  the  recent  decisions  of  the  Privy  Council 
against  the  validity  of  the  "  wakf-i-ala-aulad "  are  against  the 
Muhammadan  Law,  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  a  Commission 
should  be  appointed  by  the  Government  to  enquire  whether  the 
Privy  Council  has  not  erred  in  its  decisions,  having  regard  to  the 
law,  usage  and  sentiments  of  the  Muhammadan  people  ;  and,  if  it  be 
found  that  the  decisions  are  erroneous,  this  Congress  urges  that 
steps  should  be  taken  to  give  legal  effect  to  the  right  view. 

Partition  of  Bengal 

VI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  again  records  its  emphatic 
protest  against  the  Partition  of  Bengal,  and  regrets  that  the  present 
Government,  while  admitting  that  there  wei-e  errors  in  the  original 
plan,  and  that  it  went  wholly  and  decisively  against  the  wishes  of 
the  majority  of  the  people  of  Bengal,  is  disposed  to  look  ujDon  it  as 
a  settled  fact,  in  spite  of  the  earnest  and  persistent  pi-otest  of  the 
people,  and  their  manifest  disinclination  to  accept  it  as  final ; 

That  this  Congress,  composed  of  representatives  from  all  the 
Provinces  of  this  country,  desires  earnestly  to  impress  upon  the 
British  Parliament  and  the  present  Liberal  Government  that  it 
will  be  not  only  just,  but  expedient,  to  reverse  or  modify  the 
Partition  in  such  a  manner  as  to  keep  the  entire  Bengali-speaking 
community  under  one  undivided  administration,  and  thus  restore 
contentment  to  so  important  a  Province  as  Bengal. 

Boycott  Movement 

Vn.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  fact  that  the 
people  of  this  country  have  little  or  no  voice  in  its  administration, 
and  that  their  representations  to  the  Government  do  not  receive 
due  considei-ation,  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  Boycott 
Movement  inaugurated  in  Bengal  by  way  of  protest  against  the 
Partition  of  that  Province,  was,  and  is,  legitimate. 

Swadeshi 

VIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  accords  its  most  cordial 
support  to  the  Swadeshi  movement,  and  calls  upon  the  people  of 
the  country  to  labour  for  its  success,  by  making  earnest  and 
sustained  efforts  to  jironiote  the  growth  of  indigenous  industries 
and  to  stimulate  the  production  of  indigenous  articles  by  giving 
them    i)reference  over  imjjorted  commodities  even  at  some  sacrifice. 


THE    TWENTY-SECOND    CONGRESS  461 

Self-Government 

IX.  Resolv^ed — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
system  of  Government  obtaining  in  the  Self-Governing  British 
Colonies  should  be  extended  to  India,  and  that,  as  steps  leading 
to  it,  it  urges  that  the  following  reforms  should  be  immediately 
carried  out: 

(«)  All  examinations  held  in  England  only  should  be 
simultaneously  held  in  India  and  in  England,  and  that  all  higher 
appointments  which  are  made  in  India  should  be  by  competitive 
examination  only  ; 

(b)  The  adequate  representation  of  Indians  in  the  Council  of 
the  Secretary  of  State  and  the  Executive  Coiincils  of  the  Viceroy, 
and  of  the  Governors  of  Madras  and  Bombay ; 

(c)  The  expansion  of  the  Supreme  and  Provincial  Legislative 
Councils,  allowing  a  larger  and  truly  effective  representation  of  the 
people  and  a  larger  control  over  the  financial  and  executive 
administration  of  the  country  ; 

(d)  The  powers  of  Local  and  Municipal  bodies  should  be 
extended  and  official  control  over  them  should  not  be  more  than 
what  is  exercised  by  the  Local  Govei-nment  Board  in  England  over 
similar  bodies. 

Education 

X.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  repeats  its  protest  against  the 
policy  of  the  Government  in  respect  of  High  and  Secondary 
Education,  as  being  one  of  officialising  the  governing  bodies  of 
the  Universities,  and  restricting  the  spread  of  education.  This 
Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  Government  should  take  immediate 
steps  for  (1)  making  Primary  Education  free  and  gradually 
compulsory,  all  over  the  country,  (2)  assigning  larger  sums 
of  money  to  Secondary  Education  (special  encoui-agement 
being  given  where  necessary  to  educationally  backward  classes), 
(3)  making  the  existing  Universities  more  free  from  official 
control,  and  providing  them  with  sufficient  means  to  take  up  the 
work  of  teaching,  and  (4)  making  adequate  provision  for  Technical 
Education  in  the  different  Provinces,  having  regard  to  local 
requirements. 

National  Education 

XI.  Resolved — That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  time 
has  arrived  for  the  people  all  over  the  country  earnestly  to  take  up 
the  question  of  National  Education,  for  both  boys  and  girls,  and 
organise  a  system  of  education — Literary,  Scientific  and  Technical 
— suited  to  the  requirements  of  the  country,  on  National  lines  and 
under  National  control. 


462  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Thanks  of  Congress 

XII.  Resolved — Tliat  this  Congress  desires  to  convey  to  Sir 
William.  Wedderburn,  Bart.,  and  the  other  members  of  the  British 
Committee,  its  most  grateful  thanks,  for  their  disinterested  services 
in  the  cause  of  India's  political  advancement. 

XV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  records  its  sense  of  high 
appreciation  of  the  eminent  public  service  rendered  by  the  Hon. 
Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale,  C.I.E.,  during  his  recent  visit  to  England,  as  the 
Delegate  of  the  Congress. 

Condolence 

XIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  place  on 
record  its  sense  of  the  deep  sorrow  and  of  loss  to  India  of  the 
sudden  death  of  the  Rt.  Hon.  Mr.  Samuel  Smith,  and  that  a  copy  of 
the  foregoing  resolution  be  communicated  to  the  members  of  his 
family. 

Permanent  Settlement 

XIV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
prosperity  of  an  agricultural  country  like  India  cannot  be  secured 
without  a  definite  limitation  of  the  State  demand  on  land,  such  as 
was  proposed  by  Lord  Canning  in  1862,  or  by  Lord  Ripon  in  1882; 
and  it  regrets  that  Lord  Curzon,  in  his  Land  Resolution  of  1902, 
failed  to  recognise  the  necessity  of  any  such  limitation  and  declined 
to  accept  the  suggestions  of  Sir  Richard  Garth  and  other 
memorialists  in  the  matter.  The  Congress  holds  that  a  reasonable 
and  definite  limitation  of  the  State  demand  is  the  true  remedy  for 
the  growing  impoverishment  of  the  agricultural  population. 

This  Congress  respectfully  pi'otests  against  the  view  that  the 
Land  Revenue  in  India  is  not  a  tax,  but  is  in  the  nature  of  rent. 

Congress  Work 

XVI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  adopts  tentatively  for 
one  year  the  follo-fting  recommenflations  of  the  Standing 
Committee  of  the  Congress  ajjjjointed  at   Benares  last  year : 

1.  Vrovinciul  Congress  Committees 

(a)  The  Committee  recommends  that  each  Province  should 
organise  at  its  capital,  a  Provincial  Congx'esis  Committee  in  such 
manner  as  may  be  determined  at  a  meeting  of  the  Provincial 
Conference,  or  at  a  special  meeting,  held  for  the  purpose,  of 
representatives  of  different  districts  in  the  Province. 

(h)  The  Provincial  Congi-ess  Committee  should  act  for  the 
Province  in  all  Congress  matters  and  it  should  be  its  special  care  to 


THE    TWENTY-SECOND    CONGRESS  463 

organise     District     Associations      throughout     the     Province     for 
sustained  and  continuous  political  work  in  the  Province. 

2.  Central  Standing  Congress  Committee 

The  Committee  recommends  that  the  Congress  should  appoint 
every  year  a  Central  Standing  Committee  for  all  India,  to  carry 
out  the  Resohations  of  the  Congress,  and  to  deal  with  urgent 
questions  that  may  arise  and  which  may  require  to  be  disposed 
of  in  the  name  of  the  Congress,  and  that  this  Committee  should 
consist  of  : 

12  members  from     Bengal,  Behar,  Assam  and  Burma 

8  „  „       Madras 

8  ,,  ,,       Bombay 

6  ,,  ,,       United    Provinces 

6  ,,  ,,       Panjab 

4  ,,  ,,       Central  Provinces 

2  ,,  ,,       Berar 

the    President    of   the    year   and    the  General  Secretaries  being,  ex 
officio,  members  in  addition. 

3.  Selection  of  President 

In  the  matter  of  the  selection  of  President  in  future  years,  the 
Committee  recommends  that  the  following  scheme  should  be 
adopted : 

The  Provincial  Congress  Committee  of  the  Province  in  which 
the  Congress  is  to  be  held  should  organise  a  Reception  Committee 
in  such  manner  as  it  deems  proper  for  making  arrangements  for 
the  Congress  Session,  and  the  choice  of  the  President  should,  in 
the  first  instance,  rest  with  the  Reception  Committee,  if,  after 
consulting  Provincial  Congress  Committees,  the  Reception  Committee 
is  able  to  make  the  choice  by  a  majority  of  at  least  three-fourths  of 
its  members.  If,  however,  no  such  majority  can  be  obtained  to 
support  the  nomination  of  any  person,  the  question  should  be 
referred  to  the  Central  Standing  Committee  of  the  Congress,  and 
the  decision  of  this  Committee  should  be  final. 

4.  Subjects  Committee 

The  Committee  recommends  that  the  Subjects  Committee, 
appointed  at  each  Session  of  the  Congress  to  settle  its  programme 
of  work,  should  consist  of  : 

2.5    representatives  of  Bengal,   Behar,  Assam   and  Burma 

1.5  „  „  Madras 

15  „  „  Bombay 

10  ,,  United  Provinces 

10  „  „  Panjab 

6  ,,  ,,  Central  Provinces 

4  ,.  ,,  Berar 


464  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

and  10  additional  members  for  the  Province  in  which  the  Congress  is 
held,  elected  by  the  delegates  attending  the  Congress  from  the 
respectiv-e  Provinces  in  such  manner  as  they  may  deem  proper; 
and  that  the  President  of  the  year,  the  Chairman  of  the  Eeception 
Committee  of  the  year,  all  ex-Presidents  and  all  ex-Chairmen  of 
Eeception  Committees  who  may  be  present  at  the  Congress,  the 
General  Secretaries  of  the  Congress,  and  the  local  Secretaries  of 
the  Congress  for  the  year,  should,  in  addition,  be  ex-officio  members 
of  the  Subjects  Committee. 

Formal 

XVII.     Eesolved — That  the  next  Congress  assemble  at  Nagpur. 


CHAPTER  XXIIT 


PART  I 


We  come  to  the  saddest  episode  in  the  stoiy  of  the 
Congress,  the  split  in  the  National  party.  The 
invitation  to  ISTagpar  for  the  Congress  of  1907  had 
been  accepted  by  the  Calcutta  Congress,  but  some 
local  disagreements  having  supervened,  which  made 
the  holding  .of  the  Congress  there  difficult,  if  not 
impossible,  the  All-India  Congress  Committee,  elected 
under  the  tentative  Constitution  passed  at  Calcutta, 
decided  that  the  Twenty-third  National  Congress 
should  be  held  at  Surat,  and  ^ome  historic  French 
gardens  on  the  banks  of  the  Tapti,  forming  French 
territory,  were  taken,  and  a  charming  city  of  tents 
was  made  with  a  large  Pavilion.  The  whole  country 
Avas  in  a  state  of  turmoil  and  excitement,  and  the 
signs  of  cleavage  of  the  National  party  into  Right  and 
Left  Wings,  indicated  in  the  last  chapter,  had  grown 
marked.  Yet  all  seemed  well  as  the  delegates  poured 
in  from  all  sides,  some  1,600  in  all ;  but  no  list  of 
them  seems  to  have  survived. 

Dr.    Rash    Behari    Ghose   had    been    duly    elected 
President     of     the     Congi-ess     under     the     tentative 
37 


466  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Constitution  of  1906,  and  tlie  first  sign  of  dis- 
cord was  the  suggestion  that  Lala  La j pat  E.ai,  just 
released  after  his  deportation,  should  be  elected  as 
President,  as  a  protest  against  his  unfair  treatment 
by  the  Government.  That  staunch  patriot,  however, 
refused  to  be  made  into  a  battle-flag,  and  absolutely 
declined  to  be  elected  President  in  so  irregular  a 
fashion.  Then  a  rumour  spread  that  the  four  mili- 
tant Pesolutions  of  the  Calcutta  Congress,  on 
Self-Government,  Boycott,  Swadeshi  and  National 
Education,  were  not  to  be  put  before  the  Subjects 
Committee.  Whence  the  rumour  came,  none  knew,  but 
rumours  rise  and  spread  easily  in  an  excited  crowd. 
The  Congress  met  on  December  26th,  1907,  and  the 
Pandal,  holding  7,000  people,  was  packed.  The  Presi- 
dent-elect received  an  enthusiastic  ovation,  a  few 
cries  of  hostility  being  drowned  in  the  roar  of 
cheering.  The  Chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee, 
Mr.  Tribhuvan  Das  Malvi,  welcomed  the  delegates 
in  a  short  speech,  of  which  the  most  noteworthy 
passage   referred  to  tne  sad  condition  of  the  country  : 

Since  the  Congress  met  last  .year,  we  have  passed 
through  very  troublous  times  indeed.  Eminent  Indians 
have  been  seriously  suspected  of  and  charged  with  the 
highest  offences  against  the  State,  exciting  sedition, 
rioting  and  the  like,  in  most  cases  without  justification. 
Somehow  the  idea  became  prevalent  among  tlie  I'uling 
class  that  the  present  year,  being  the  50th  year  since  the 
Indian  Mutiny,  Indians  were  preparing  for  a  similar 
revolt,  and  a  sort  of  panic  seized  them.  To  check  this 
imaginary  revolt  all  sorts  of  repressive  and  re-actionary 
measures  were  taken.  Old  obsolete  enactments,  of  the 
■existence  whereof  even  no  one  ever  dreamed,  were  brought 
into   requisition   for  the   purpose    of  pnnislijing  people  for 


THE    TWENTY-THIRD    CONGRESS  467 

undefined  offences  assumed  to  have  been  fommitted, 
without  giving  any  notice  to  the  victims  of  the  cliarges 
laid  at  their  doors,  or  giving  them  an  opportunity  of 
meeting  those  charges.  The  people  in  certain  localities 
were  assumed  to  harbour  treasonable  intentions,  and 
meetings  were  prohibited  in  those  districts,  at  first  for  a 
time,  and  we  have  now  a  very  dangerous  statute  in  the 
shape  of  the  Seditious  Meetings  Act,  capable  of  general 
application  throughout  the  country  by  a  notification  in 
the  Government  Gazette,  thrust  upon  as. 

It  is  all  this  coercive  legislation,  with  the  revival  of 
the  old  wicked  laws  which  place  every  man's  liberty  at 
the  mercy  of  a  frightened  official,  which  renders 
intelligible  the  attitude  of  the  Left  Wing,  that 
nothing  but  opposition  to  a  Grovernment  which  stoops 
to  such  measures  is  consistent  with  self-respect,  or 
oifers  any  prospect  of  relief. 

Dewan  Bahadur  Ambalal  S.  Desai  proposed  Dr. 
Rash  Beiiari  Ghose  as  President.  Beyond  some  cries 
of  "  No,  Xo,"  there  was  little  interruption,  but  a 
tumult  broke  out  when  the  old  favourite  of  the  Con- 
gress, Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji,  arose  to  second. 
The  party  of  shouters  seems  to  have  been  small,  about 
30  according  to  The  Statesman,  but  they  made  so  much 
noise,  aided  by  the  shouts  of  "  Order  "  of  the  vast 
majority,  that  it  was  impossible  to  hear  Mr.  Bannerji, 
and  the  Chairman  adjourned  the  meeting  till  the 
next  day,  hoping  hot  feelings  would  die  down. 

The  Congress  met  again  on  the  27th,  and  the  warm 
greeting  of  a  huge  majority  showed  the  feeling  of  the 
delegates.  Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  finished  his 
speech.  Pandit  Motilal  Nehru  supported  his  proposal, 
and  Dr.  Rash  Beliari  Ghose  was  elected,  and  took  the 


468  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

chair  ainid  vociferous  applause.  Mr.  B.  G.  Tilak 
then  came  to  the  platform  and  said  he  wished  to  move 
an  amendment^  either  about  an  adjournment,  or  to 
the  Presidential  election.  An  argument  ensued. 
Mr.  Tilak  attempted  to  address  the  delegates,  who 
refused  to  listen  to  him,  upholding  the  authority  of 
the  President,  who  had  ruled  him  out  of  order. 
The  platform  was  charged  by  men  armed  with  sticks, 
a  heavy  shoe  was  flung  at  and  struck  Sir  Pherozeshah 
Mehta  and  Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji,  the  President 
declared  the  meeting  adjourned,  and  the  police 
cleared  the  Hall — a  sad  page  in  the  glorious  history 
of  the  Congress  ;  but  the  Congress  was  saved  by  the 
statesmanlike  action  of  Sir  Pherozeshah  Mehta,  Mr. 
Gokhale,  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha,  Dr.  Eash  Behari  Ghose, 
Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya,  Mr.  V.  Krishnaswami 
Iyer,    and  many  others. 

They  met,  and  drew  up  the  folloM'ing  notice,  call- 
ing a  National  Convention  on  the  next  day,  December 
28th  : 

The  23rd  Indian  National  Congress  having  been 
suspended  sine  die  under  painful  circumstances,  the  under- 
signed have  resolved  with  a  view  to  the  orderly  conduct 
of  fiature  political  work  in  the  country  to  call  a  Conven- 
tion of  those  delegates  to  the  Congress  who  are  agreed : 

(1)  That  the  attainment  by  India  of  Self-Govern- 
ment  similar  to  that  enjoyed  by  the  Self-Governing  mem- 
bers of  the  British  p]nipire,  and  participation  by  her  in 
the  rights  and  responsibilities  of  the  Empire  on  equal 
terms  with  tliosc  members  is  the  goal  of  our  political 
aspirations. 

■    (2)      That  the  advance   towai'ds  this  goal  is  to  be  by 
strictly  constitutional  means,  b}'  bringing  about  a  steady 


THE    TWENTY-THIRD    CONGEESS  469 

reform  of  the  existing  system  of  administration,  and  by 
promoting-  N"ational  Unity,  fostering  public  spirit,  and  im- 
proving the  condition  of  the  mass  of  the  people. 

(3)  And  that  all  meetings  held  for  the  promotion 
of  the  aims  and  objects  above  indicated  have  to  be 
conducted  in  an  orderly  manner,  with  due  submission  to 
the  authority  of  those  that  are  entrusted  with  the  power 
to  control  their  procedure,  and  the}^  are  requested  to 
attend  at  1  p.m.  on  Saturday  the  28th  of  December, 
1907,  in  the  Pandal  lent  for  the  purpose  by  the  working 
Committee  of  the  Reception  Committee  of  the  23rd 
Indian  National  Congress. 

Signed  : 

Rash  Behaki  Ghose  Norendkanath  Sen 

Pherozeshah  M.  Mehta  Ambalal  Sakeral  Desai 

Surendranath  Bannerji  Y.  Krishnaswami  Iyer 

G.  K.  GoKHALE  Tribhovandas  N.  Malvi 

D.  E.  Wacha  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya 

And  many  others. 

Over  900  of  the  delegates  subscribed  to  the  above 
and  attended  the  meeting.  If  the  Congress  was  not 
to  be  slain  by  violence,  some  one  had  to  act,  and  the 
delegates  who  originally  signed  the  notice  sprang  into 
the  breach.  The  approval  of  a  large  majority  of  the 
delegates  present  legitimatised  the  calling  of  the 
Convention,  and,  if  a  majority  is  to  rule,  the  Con- 
vention  was   the  child  of  the  23rd  National  Congress. 

Sir  Pherozeshah  Mehta  proposed  Dr.  Rash  Behari 
Ghose  to  the  chair.  The  motion  was  seconded  by 
Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji,  and  supported  by  Lala 
Lajpat  Rai  and  others.  It  was  carried  nnanimously, 
and  Dr.  Rash  Behari,  taking  the  chair,  called  on  Mr. 
Gokhale  to  move  the  Resolution  appointing  a  Com- 
mittee  to   draw   up  a   Constitution  for  the  Congress. 


470  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Mr.  Gokliale  moved  over  a  liundred  names  of  leading 
Congressmen  present ;  DeAvan  Bahadur  Govinda- 
raghava  Aiyar  seconded,  Mr.  A.  Clioudlmri  supported. 
It  was  carried  unanimously,  Sir  Pherozesliah  ]\[elita, 
Messrs.  Gokliale  and  Waclia  were  appointed  Secretaries, 
and  Dr.  Ghose  dissolved  the  Convention,  the  bridge 
which  carried  the  Congress  from  its  old  system  to  the 
new.  It  has  been  said  that  the  Surat  riot  shows  the  un- 
fitness of  Indians  for  Self-Government ;  it  seems  to  us 
that  the  quickness  of  recovery,  the  prompt  action,  the 
business-like  procedure,  were  far  better  proofs  of  their 
fitness  than  the  conducting  of  peaceable  meetings. 
To  meet  an  unexpected  emergency,  to  grapple  with 
it,  and  to  secure  the  continuity  of  the  Congress 
showed  statesmanship  and  judgment,  and  we  should 
like  to  know  what  better  procedure  could  have  been 
followed. 

The  Convention  Committee  met  at  Allahabad  on  the 
1 8th  and  19th  of  April,  1908,  and  dreAv  up  a  Constitu- 
tion for  the  Indian  National  Congress.  They  also 
drew  up  a  set  of  Rules  for  the  conduct  of  meetings. 
Articles  I  and  IT  arc  the  vital  ones,  and  run  as  follows  : 

Article  I. — The  objects  of  tlvo  Indian  National  Congress 
are  the  attainment  by  the  people  of  India  of  a  system  of 
Government  similar  to  that  enjoyed  by  the  Self-Governing 
Members  of  the  liritisli  Empire,  and  a  participation  by 
them  in  the  rights  and  responsibilities  of  tlie  Empire  on 
equal  terms  with  those  members.  These  objects  are  to  be 
acliieved  by  constitutional  means,  by  bringing  about  a 
steady  reform  of  the  existing  system  of  administration, 
and  liy  promoting  national  unity,  fostering  public  spirit, 
and  developing  and  organising  the  intellectual,  moral, 
economic  and  industrial  resources  of  the  countrv. 


THE    TWENTY-THIRU    CONGRESS  471 

[This  is  the  famous  "  Creed  ".] 

Article  II. — Every  delegate  to  the  Indian  National 
Congress  shall  express  in  writing  his  acceptanne  of  the 
Objects  of  the  Congress  as  laid  down  in  Article  I  of 
this  Constitution,  and  his  willingness  to  abide  by  this 
Constitution,  and  by  the  Rules  of  the  Congress  hereto 
appended. 

The  Madras  Congress  of  1908  was  held  undtn-  this 
Constitution,  which  was  formally  laid  on  the  table. 
This  Constitution,  with  the  Rules,  was  submitted  to 
the  Congress  at  Allahabad  in  1910,  and  a  Resolution 
was  there  passed  referring  various  proposed  amend- 
ments to  a  Sub-Committee,  which  was  ordered  to 
report  before  the  end  of  October,  1911,  the  report  tO' 
be  laid  before  the  Congress  of  that  year.  It  was  sO' 
laid,  and  was  further  amended  and  adopted  by  the 
Congress  of  Calcutta  in  1911;  it  was  still  further 
amended,  and  passed  as  amended,  by  the  Congress  of 
Bankipur  in  1912. 

They  thus  became  the  Congress  Constitution  and 
Rules,  being  accepted  by  the  body  which  is  the  only 
National  Congress  in  the  field,  and  is  accepted  as 
the  National  Congress  in  India,  and  in  the  whole 
world  outside  India. 

A  few  adherents  of  the  Stuarts  may  deny  that  the 
acts  which  placed  the  Gruelphs  on  the  British  Throne 
were  constitutional,  but  the  controversy  is  academi- 
cal. The  succession  of  the  Guelphs  is  ^  fait  accompli. 
So  with  the  National  Congress.  It  was,  it  is,  and  it 
will  be.  Most  Indians  are  grateful  to  the  majority, 
who  foiled  the  revolution  of  1907,  and  carried  on  the 
succession.     "Law  is  silent  amid  the  clash  of   arms." 


472  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

They  did  the  best  they  could  under  ahnormal  circum- 
stances, and  the  JSTation,  by  continuing  to  send  up 
its  delegates  year  after  year,  has  confirmed  their 
action. 

An  attempt  to  find  a  path  of  reconciliation  was 
made  in  1914,  and  failed.  By  whose  fault  it  is  once 
more  idle  to  dispute.  The  Congress,  however,  appoint- 
ed a  Committee  to  consider  amendments  to  the  present 
rule  under  which  the  Left  Wing  refuses  to  come  in. 
At  the  time  of  writing,  the  Committee  has  not 
met,  but  if  it  make  any  amendment,  and  the  Con- 
gress approve  it  and  the  Left  Wing  accept  it,  it  can 
only  be  acted  on  in  1916.  Practical  politicians 
work  from  the  statua  quo,  and  the  Congress  door 
is  open  to  all  who  accept  its  present  Constitution.  It 
would  seem  reasonable  for  the  Left  Wing  to  imitate 
the  Irish  party,  who,  while  denouncing  the  Act  of 
Union  on  the  platform,  accepted  it  as  a  fait  accompli 
in  politics,  came  in  under  it  into  the  Houses  of 
Parliament,  and  then  proceeded  to  fight  for  Home 
Hule.  That  is  the  democratic  way  of  carrying  on 
political  battles.  Above  all,  in  meetings,  where  a 
President  has  been  duly  elected,  as  at  Surat,  his 
ruling  must  be  obeyed,  otherwise  the  meeting,  as  at 
Surat,  becomes  a  mob.  The  sine  qua  non  of  a  Demo- 
cracy is  order,  under  laws  made  by  itself.  Dr.  Rash 
Behari  Ghose  had  been  elected  under  the  tentative 
Constitution  of  1906,  passed  by  the  Avhole  Congress, 
and  no  one  had  any  right  to  challenge  it.  That  Avas 
the  primary  unconstitutional  action,  out  of  which  the 
furtlier    trouble   grew ;   the    Congress,   adjourned    by 


THE    TWENTY-THIRD    CONGRESS 


473 


him  as  President,  met  under  him  again  at  Madras, 
still  the  23rd  Congress,  composed  of  a  crowd  of  the 
same  delegates  and  of  others  added  to  them  by  the 
Nation,  the  final  Court  of  Appeal,  thus  preserving 
the  succession. 

PART  II 


The  Twenty-third  National  Congress,  adjourned  at 
Surat,  met  at  Madras,  on  the  28th,  29th  and  30th 
December,  1908.  The  Pandal  had  been  erected  in 
the  Elphinstone  Grounds,  Mount  Road  ;  it  met  under 
the  Constitution  and  Rules  drawn  up  by  the  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  National  Convention  at 
Sui-at,  and  the  signing  of  Article  I  was  necessary  for 
admission  as  a  delegate.  626  delegates  attended, 
distributed  as  follows  : 


I 


Madras 

404 

Bombay 

134 

United  Bengal 

36 

U.  P 

23 

C.   P.   and  Berar 

18 

Pan  jab 

7 

Burma 

4 

626 

Dewan  Bahadur  K.  Krishnaswami  Rao,  CLE., 
the  Chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee,  after 
welcoming  the  delegates,  said  a  few  words  on  the 
reforms  proposed  by  Lord  Morley,  on  which  the 
opinion  of  Congress  should  be  expressed.  For  the 
first  time  they  met  under  a  Constitution,  drawn 
up  by  the  Committee  appointed  at  Surat ;  Mr.  Hume, 


474  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Sir  William  Wedderbnrn  and  Mr.  Dadabhai  Naoroji 
had  approved  both  the  Constitution  and  the  Rules, 
l)ut  they  were  of  course  subject  to  modification  by 
the  Congress.  In  concluding,  the  Chairman  expressed 
the  grief  of  India  for  the  loss  of  two  great  men, 
Rai  Bahadur  P.  Ananda  Charlu,  C.  I.  E.,  and 
Sir  V.  Bhashyam  Iyengar,  C.  I.  E.  He  called  on 
Nawab  Syed  Muhammad  to  move  that  the  Hon.  Rash 
Behari  Ghose  take  the  Chair. 

The  Nawab  Sahab  proposed  the  motion,  which  was 
seconded  by  Rao  Bahadur  R.  N.  Mudholkar,  support- 
ed by  Sir  Bhalchandra  Krishna  and  carried  by 
tumultuous  applause. 

The  President  began  by  alluding  to  the  Surat 
trouble,  and  justifying  the  course  taken  to  preserve 
the  Congress.  Turning  to  the  condition  of  India,  he 
spoke  of  the  "  succession  of  repressive  laws,  and 
deportations  under  a  lawless  law  "  as  sapping  the  most 
robust  optimism  ;  but  now  the  clouds  had  broken,  and 
representative  Government  was  to  J)e  granted,  and 
Indians  were  to  "  have  an  effective  voice  in  directing 
the  policy  of  the  Government ".  "  We  shall  now 
have  something  like  a  constitutional  Government  in 
the  place  of  an  autocratic  and  irresponsible  adminis- 
tration." Some  unfortunate  repressive  laws  had  been 
passed,  with  the  natural  result  of  secret  crime  ;  that 
which  happened  in  other  countries  happened  in  India, 
and  a  feAv  began  to  dally  with  treason.  "  Coercion 
and  even  the  appearance  of  coercion  tend  to  create 
only  distrust  and  suspicion."  There  had  been  during 
the  year    some  twenty  prosecutions    for  sedition,  and 


THE    TWENTY-THIRD    CONGRESS  475 

as  many  convictions^  and  when  feeling  runs  liigh 
every  editor  or  speaker  convicted  of  sedition  is 
regarded  as  a  martyr.  Sedition  was  a  vague  offence, 
and  might  be  made  to  cover  any  political  agitation. 
In  India,  where  a  man  tried  for  sedition  had  not  the 
defence  of  a  jury,  "  a  prosecution  can  only  be  justified 
when  the  public  peace  is  imperilled  by  wild  writ- 
ings or  speeches ".  He  hoped  that,  ere  long,  a 
successor  of  his  in  that  chair  would  "  be  able  to 
congratulate  the  country  on  the  repeal  of  Regulation 
III  of  1818,  a  barbarous  relic  from  the  past — an  un- 
weeded  remnant  which  ought  to  have  been  extirpated 
long  long  ago  ".  [Dr.  Grhose  refers  to  the  odious 
lettre  de  cachet  system,  which  still  stains  our  legisla- 
tion. But  we  are  not  likely  to  get  rid  of  it  till  we 
have  Home  Rule.  Autocracy  does  not  readily  part 
with  its  unconstitutional  weapons.] 

The  President  looked  forward  to  the  day  when  a 
successor  should  announce  the  gaining  of  Self-Govern- 
ment,  but  he  thought  it  far  off  : 

A  younger  generation  will  take  up  the  work,  who  will, 
I  trust,  have  some  kindly  thoughts  for  those  who  too,  in 
their  day,  strove  to  do  their  duty,  however  imperfectly, 
through  good  report  and  through  evil  report,  with,  it  may 
be,  a  somewhat  chastened  fervour,  but,  I  may  say  without 
boasting,  a  fervour  as  genuine  as  that  which  stirs  and 
inspires  younger  hearts. 

The  delegates  were  then  asked  to  elect  their 
delegates  for  the  Subjects  Committee,  and  the  Con- 
gress adjourned. 

The  second  day  opened  with  the  reading  of  a 
message  from  Mr.  Keir  Hardie,  brought  by  Dr.  Clark, 
M.P.,  who  had  come  as  a  delegate. 


476  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

The  President  then  moved  Resolution  I,  tendering 
loyal  homage  to  the  King-Emperor,  and  respectfully 
welcoming  the  message  of  His  Majesty,  confirming 
the  Proclamation  of  1858.  The  Resolution  was 
carried  amid  loud  applause. 

Resolution  II,  expressing  the  deep  satisfaction  with 
which  Lord  Morley's  Despatch,  outlining  the  Reform 
proposals,  had  been  received,  and  hoping  that  the 
Reforms  would  be  worked  out  in  the  liberal  spirit  in 
which  they  had  been  conceived,  was  moved  by 
Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji.  He  said  that  in  the  early 
days  they  had  only  asked  for  a  little  expansion  of 
the  Legislative  Councils,  but  now  things  had  changed; 
Asia  was  throbbing  with  new  life  ;  Japan  had  become 
a  World-Power  ;  China  and  Persia  were  seeking  re- 
presentative institutions.  India  hoped  the  Reforms 
would  widen  out  in  the  future.  In  Bengal  there  M'^as 
a  growing  feeling  of  the  uselessness  of  constitutional 
agitation,  since  no  efforts  had  availed  to  get  rid  of 
the  Partition,  but  he  still  clung  to  constitutional 
means.  And  they  should  all  welcome  these  Reforms, 
as  a  message  of  conciliation.  They  would  be  able 
to  do  something  under  the  new  conditions.  In  Bengal 
nine  respectable  men  had  been  deported  : 

To  arrest  nine  respectable  persons,  to  snatrli  tliem 
away  from  their  families  and  detain  them  in  prison 
without  a  complaint  or  a  charge,  and  without  affording 
them  the  opportunity  of  explanation  or  defence  is  a 
proceeding  abhorrent  to  minds  wedded  to  constitutional 
methods  of  procedure  and  to  the  canons  of  law  and  justice. 

Under  the  proposed  Reforms  they  would  at  least 
be   able  in   such   cases   to  challenge   the  Government 


I 


THE    TWENTY-THIRD    CONGRESS  477 

in  the  Council.  The  Eules  to  be  framed  under  the 
scheme  were  all-important.  They  might  make  it 
successful,  or  bring  about  its  total  failure. 

The  Hon.  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  seconded 
the  Resolution,  expressing  their  warm  gratitude  for 
the  instalment  of  Reform  offered  to  them,  though  it 
did  not  go  as  far  as  they  wished.  Let  nobody 
imagine  the  Reforms  were  final.  They  must  ask  for 
more  and  more. 

Rao  Bahadur  R.  N.  Mudholkar  supported,  and 
pointed  to  the  definite  gains  in  the  proposals  made. 
Dewan  Bahadur  L.  A.  Govindaraghava,  in  view 
of  the  opposition  to  Lord  Morley  in  England,  thought 
they  should  express  their  view  that  the  pi'oposals 
were  conceived  in  a  generous  spirit ;  the  Reforms  were 
substantial  though  not  large.  Lala  Harkishan  Lai 
and  Mr.  Jehangir  B.  Petit  supported,  the  latter 
laying  stress  on  the  work  done  in  England  by 
Mr.  Gokhale.  Mr.  M.  A.  Jinnah,  the  Rev.  Dr.  R.  A. 
Hume,  Pandit  Gokarannath  Misra  and  Dr.  Clark 
also  supported,  the  latter  expressing  the  hope — doom- 
ed to  failnre^ — that  they  might  in  the  next  Congress 
be  as  pleased  with  the  Act  as  they  were  with  the 
outline  of  the  proposals.  "  The  Russian  bureaucrat 
had  got  to  go  ;  the  Turkish  bureaucrat  has  got  to  go  ; 
the  Indian  bureaucrat  has  got  to  go  also.  ...  If  the 
bureaucrat  is  bad  in  Europe,  he  is  bad  here  also." 
The  Resolution  was  carried. 

The  President  then  put  from  the  Chair  Resolution. 
Ill,  expressing  detestation  of  the  deeds  of  violence 
committed,  and  it  was  carried. 


478  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Resolution  JY  brought  up  once  again  the  ill-treat- 
ment of  British  Indians  in  South  Africa.  [It  will  be 
noticed  that  under  the  rule  of  another  Nation,  no 
grievance  is  redressed  without  years  of  agitation  and 
pleading,  if  redressed  at  all.  Hence  the  constant 
repetition  of  the  same  Resolutions.]  It  was  moved  by 
Mr.  Mushir  Hasan  Kidwai,  who  had  been  elected 
as  delegate  of  the  Johanneslnirg  British  Indian  Asso- 
ciation and  the  Hamidia  Islamic  Society  there  to 
the  Congress  and  the  All-India  Muslim  League,  to 
represent  their  wrong's.  He  made  an  admirable  and 
forcible  speech. 

The  passion  of  earth -hunger  has  been  on  Europe  for 
a  long  time  past  and  there  is  hardly  a  corner  of  the  world 
where  the  white  man  has  not  penetrated  and  which  he 
would  not  like  to  make  his  own.  Will  the  whole  world 
then  become  the  white  man's  and  all  the  coloured  men 
have  to  move  away  from  it  ?  If  the  Transvaal  is  to  be 
dubbed  a  white  man's  country,  why  should  not  then  also 
Egypt,  or  India,  or  Algiers  ?  I  fail  to  see,  gentlemen,  the 
logic  of  this  arbitrary  theory  that  a  white  man's  country 
should  be  a  forbidden  land  foi-  coloured  men.  Nor  would 
the  argument  that  the  Indians  should  not  be  allowed  to 
live  in  a  country  in  which  Europeans  also  live  because 
they  lower  the  standard  of  living,  hold  water  for  a 
moment.  The  necessary  corollary  of  that  proposition 
would  be,  that  Asiatics  may  object  to  Europeans  and 
Americans  living  in  their  midst,  as  their  influence 
and  example  would  lead  them  to  live  in  a  style  unsuited 
to  the  circumstances  of  their  country.  Would  the 
Europeans  leave  Asia  on  the  ground  that  the  coloured 
man's  continent  ought  to  remain  the  coloured  man's 
continent  ?  The  more  you  raise  the  standard  of  living, 
the  more  you  increase  pauperism.  In  India  the  poor 
people  who  could  live  comfortaVjly  on  an  income  of  Rs.  2 
a  month  have  now  to  starve  on  tluit  income,  thanks  to  the 
raising    of   the   standard    of  living.      I   do  not   know  what 


THE    TWENTY-THIRD    CONGRESS  479 

western  moralists  would  say,  but  an  Eastern  would 
unhesitatinglj^  prefer  an  all-round  low  standard  of  living,  if 
it  would  render  the  ordinary  comforts  of  life  accessible  in  a 
larger  degree  to  the  poor  masses  and  make  a  slender  income 
suffice  for  a  respectable  living.  My  standard  of  living,  for 
instance,  is  higher  than  was  that  of  my  grandfather, 
but  when  I  go  to  my  people  and  my  tenants,  and  see  them 
struggling  hard  for  their  very  existence,  living  in  worse 
houses  than  they  iised  to  and  on  less  sufficient  food,  I 
stand  self-condemned  for  the  selfish  folly  of  spending  more 
on  my  own  living  than  I  might. 

He  caustically  said  : 

Just  imagine  what  any  section  of  the  Europeans  re- 
sident in  China  would  do,  if  they  were  put  to  similar 
worrying  insults  by  the  Chinese  Government. 

Mv.  C.  Y.  Chintamani,  in  seconding,  pointed  to  the 
effect  on  the  public  mind  in  India  of  the  continued 
ill-treatment  of  Indians  in  Boutli  Africa.  The  Re- 
solution was  supported  by  Mr.  Ibrahim  Noordien 
Muquadam,  Dr.  U.  L.  Desai,  Mr.  G.  K.  Gadgil,  and 
Dr.  Clark,  M.  P.,  and  carried. 

The  Hon.  Mr.   Krishnan  Nair  moved  Resolution  V, 

appealing     for    the     reversal     of     the    Partition    of 

Bengal,   and   it   was   seconded  by  Mr.  Ambikacharan 

Mozumdar,  from  whom  we   must  cull   one  paragraph 

which  is  always  true  of  Indian  as  of  other  despotisms  : 

As  regards  new  facts,  well,  they  are  painfully  in 
evidence  in  the  unrest  which  is  surging  from  one  end  of 
the  country  to  the  other,  and  marking  its  ravages  both 
in  Upper  India  as  well  as  in  the  Deccan,  and  latterly  in 
the  ugly  developments  which  have  disgraced  the  Indian 
public  and -blotted  the  Indian  administration.  Violence 
and  lawlessness  we  hate  ;  anarchism  we  detest.  But  it 
seems  impossible  nci  to  feel  the  force  of  the  circumstance 
which  has  given  monstrous  birth  to  the  insane  bomb- 
maker.       And,    gentlemen,    what    has    been  the    remedy 


480  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

applied  to  this  state  of  things — Repression,  Repression, 
and  nothing  but  Repression.  But,  gentlemen,  if  anarch- 
ism has  in  every  age  and  in  every  country  failed  to  achieve 
the  salvation  of  any  people,  repression  has  likewise  no- 
"ivhere  succeeded  in  restoring  peace  and  order,  and  in  this 
country  repression  has  so  far  only  succeeded  in  converting 
prison-houses  into  martyrdoms.  How  long,  oh,  how  long, 
will  this  intolerable  state  of  things  continue  ?  If  the 
Partition  is  a  settled  fact,  the  unrest  in  India  is  also  a 
settled  fact,  and  it  is  for  Lord  Morley  and  the  Government 
of  India  to  decide  which  should  be  unsettled  to  settle  the 
question. 

The  Resolution  was  supported  by  Messrs.  Dharm- 
das    Suri,   Harichandra    A^ishindas,   and    was  carried. 

Resolution  VI  accorded  the  cordial  support  of  the 
Congress  to  the  Swadeshi  movement^  and  was  moved 
by  Mr.  Dipnarrain  Singh,  who  pointed  out  that  the 
Muhammadan  weavers  -in  Bengal  had,  that  year, 
been  able  to  resist  the  famine  because  of  the  move- 
ment. The  Resolution  was  seconded  by  Mr.  K. 
Perrazu,  supported  by  Messrs.  Iswara  Saran,  G.  K. 
Chitale,  R.   V.  Mahajani  and  carried. 

Mr.  V.  V.  Jogiah  moved  Resolution  VII,  a  protest 
against  the  imposition  of  new  Military  charges  on 
India,  the  latest  of  £300,000,  on  the  recommendation 
of  the  Romer  Commission,  the  Report  of  which  the 
Government  refused  to  lay  on  the  table  of  the  House. 
He  noted  the  growth  of  the  expenditure,  from  nearly 
11  crores  and  odd  in  1857  to  nearly  32  and  odd  in 
1906-07.  Pandit  Rambhaja  Datta  Choudhuri  formally 
seconded,  the  Resolution  was  carried,  and  the  Con- 
gress rose. 

The  third  day's  proceedings  began  Avith  an  invita- 
tion to  a  garden  party    from  the  Raja  of    Kollengode, 


THE    TWENTY-THIRD    CONGRESS  481 

and  a  telegram  from  South  Africa,  nearly  2,000 
Indians  having  suffered  imprisonment  in  the  Trans- 
vaal. Then  came  our  old  Separation  of  Judicial  and 
Executive  Functions,  as  Resolution  VIII,  moved  by 
Dr.  Satish  Chandra  Bannerji,  seconded  by  Mr.  E,. 
Sadagopachariar,  supported  by  Messrs.  Bishunpada 
Chatterji  and  Govindarao  Apaji  Patil,  and  carried. 

Pandit  Rambhuj  Dutt  Choudhuri  moved  Resolu- 
tion IX,  asking  that  the  army  might  be  thrown 
open  to  Indians  in  its  higher  grades.  It  was  seconded 
by  Mr.  Narayana  Menon,  supported  by  Mr.  Govinda 
Shai  Sharma  and  carried. 

Next  came  Resolution  X,  demanding  the  repeal  of 
the  Bengal  Regulation  III  of  1818,  and  other  similar 
Regulations  in  other  Provinces,  and  asking  that 
the  recently  deported  persons  might  be  given  an 
opportunity  of  meeting  the  charges  made  against 
them,  or  else  be  set  at  liberty.  Mr.  Syed  Hasan 
Imam  moved  the  Resolution,  the  necessity  for  which 
was,  and  still  is,  a  disgrace  to  British  rule  in  India. 
The  speaker,  after  showing  that  there  were  no 
circumstances  which  justified  the  seizure  of  peaceable 
citizens  and  dragging  them  away  from  their  homes 
without  charge  or  trial,  spoke  of  the  nine  recent 
arrests  and  of  the  previous  arrest  of  Lala  Lajpat  Rai. 
"  Unexplained  deportations  shook  the  faith  of  the 
most  loyal  in  the  justice  of  a  law  that  hides  its 
proceedings  from  public  gaze.^'  Babu  Bhupendranath 
Basu  seconded,  as  a  close  personal  friend  of  some  of 
those  deported ;  they  were  his  fellow-workers  for- 
many  years.  "  Are  we  to  be  imprisoned,  are  we  to 
38 


482  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

be  deported,  are  we  to  be  arrested,  without  being 
given  even  an  opportunity  of  explaining  our  conduct  ?  " 
There  had  been  lately  the  Midnapore  trial,  where 
elderly  men,  some  of  the  highest  men  in  Indian  Society, 
had  been  thrown  into  prison,  and  when  they  were 
brought  to  trial  it  was  found  that  "  the  whole 
prosecution  under  which  the  men  were  subjected  to 
indescribable  ignominy  was  based  upon  the  informa- 
tion of  a  drunken  debauchee  picked  up  in  the  streets 
of  Midnapore,"  information  that  had  to  be  abandoned. 

Mr.  P.  L.  Raj  Pal  supported  in  a  few  words,  and 
then  Dr.  Tej  Bahadur  Saprn  pointed  out  that  in  no 
other  country  in  the  British  Empire  did  such  a  law 
exist  as  that  which  they  desired  to  be  repealed. 
The  spirit  of  it  was 

against  tlie  very  first  principles  of  English  jurispru- 
dence, and  it  is  opposed  to  all  the  ti^aditions  of  the  English 
Constitution.  1  would  go  further,  and  say  that  it 
constitutes  a  very  great  menace  to  our  liberty.  It  stands 
hanging  over  our  heads  like  the  sword  of  Damocles. 

The  Resolution  was  put  and  carried. 

Resolution  XI  expressed  the  hope  that  Acts  VII 
and  XIV  of  1908  would  not  long*  remain  on  the 
Statute  Book,  and  was  moved  by  Mr.  P.  R. 
Sundara  Aiyar.  Act  VII  allowed  the  summary 
attachment  of  newspaper  presses,  and  Act  XIV  made 
it  punishable  for  any  person  to  subscribe  to  an 
association  that  was  condemned  ;  the  ■word  "  know- 
ingly "  was  suggested  as  an  amendment  before 
"  subscribe,"  but  it  Avas  rejected.  If  such  legislation 
were  necessary,   it   should    only  be  passed  for  a  short 


THE    TWENTY-THIRD    CONGEESS  483 

period,  and  brought  up  for  renewal  if  the  necessity 
continued,  as  in  Ireland.  Mr.  8.  Sinha  seconded, 
Mr.  M.  Ramchand  supported,  and  the  Resolution 
was  passed. 

The  President  put  froui  the  Chair  Resolution  XII, 
on  legislation  in  the  Central  Provinces  and  Behar, 
Carried. 

Mr.  C.  Karunakara  Menon  moved  Resolution  XIII, 
asking  for  an  enquiry  into  the  causes  of  the  high 
prices  of  food-stuifs.  It  was  seconded  by  Mr.  A.  C. 
Parthasarathi  Xaidu  and  carried. 

Resolution  XIV,  on  Education,  was  nujved  by  Mr.  A. 
Choudhuri,  seconded  by  Rao  Bahadur  K.  Gr.  Desai, 
supported  by  Messrs.  Paratneshwar  Lai  and  Utamlal 
Trivedi,  and  Dr.  Nilratan  Sircar,  and  carried. 

The  President  put  from  the  Chair  Resolution  XV, 
on  Permanent  Settlement,  and  XVI,  on  the  loss  sustain- 
ed by  the  deaths  of  Messrs.  Kalicharan  Bannerji, 
Alfred  Webb,  Bansilal  Singh,  Pandit  Bishambarnath, 
and   Rao   Bahadur  P.  Ananda  Charlu.     Both  cai-ried. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Gokhale  then  moved  Resolution 
XVII,  comprising  messages  of  congratulation  to 
Mr.  A.  0.  Hume  on  the  Reforms ;  and  to  Sir  William 
Wedderburn  on  his  recovery  from  serious  illness,  and 
thanking  him  for  all  his  work ;  thanking  also  the 
British  Committee,  He  made  a  long  and  eloquent 
speech,  dwelling  on  the  new  responsibilities  imposed 
on  them  by  the  Reforms,  and  on  the  need  to  co-oper- 
ate with  Government  under  the  new  conditions.  The 
Resolution  Avas  carried  without  any  further  speaking, 
and  Dr.  Clark  responded. 


484  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Resolution  XVIII  appointed  the  members  of  the 
All-India  Congress  Committee ;  Resolution  XIX 
thanked  the  Reception  Committee;  and  XX  appoint- 
ed Messrs.  D.  E.  Wacha  and  the  Hon.  Mr.  D.  A. 
Khare,  General  Secretaries.  Resolution  XXI 
accepted  Lahore  for  the  meeting  of  the  Congress  in 
1909.  Then  the  Hon.  Mr.  V.  Krishnaswami  Aiyar 
moved  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  President  and 
Dr.  (rhose  responded  ;  lie  sounded  a  note  of  warning, 
for  since  his  presidential  speech  news  had  come  from 
England  of  tlie  gathering  of  ominous  clouds  in  the 
political  sky. 

Our  enemies — did  1  say  our  enemies  ?  I  ought  to 
have  said  the  enemies  of  the  English  people,  the  enemies 
of  English  rule  in  India,  are  trying  to  thwart  Lord 
Morley's  Reform  scheme.  It  is  therefore  our  dut_y  to 
make  organised  efforts  here,  as  well  as  in  England,  to 
counteract  the  mischievous  action  of  mischievous  bureau- 
crats, who,  even  in  their  retirement,  in  the  very  home 
of  free  institutions,  have  not  lost  their  re-actionary 
instincts.  The  leopard  may  change  his  spots,  but  there 
is  no  hope,  take  my  word  for  it,  for  the  sun-dried 
bureaucrat.  The  fetters  are  not  taken  off  his  mind  even 
in  the  free  atmosphere  of  England.  Once  a  bureaucrat, 
always  a  bureaucrat. 

The     warning     proved     to    be    but   too    true ;    the 

Reforms  were  spoiled. 

The  Twenty-third  National  Congress  dissolved. 

RESOLUTIONS 

To  the  King-Emperor 

I.  Resolved — That  the  Indian  National  Congress  tenders  its 
loyal  homage  to  His  Gracious  Majesty  the  King-Emperor  and 
respectfully  welcomes  the  message  sent  by  His  Majesty  to  the 
Princes  and  Peoples  of  India  on  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the 
memorable  ProclMmati(jn  issued  in  18.58  by  his  Illustrious  Mother, 
Victoria  the  Good. 


THE    TWENTY-THIRD    CONGRESS  485 

That  this  Congress  begs  to  record  its  satisfaction  that  the 
interpretation  placed  by  it  upon  the  Pledge  contained  in  that 
"  Great  Charter"  of  1858  has  been  upheld  by  His  Majesty. 

That  this  Congress  gratefully  welcomes  the  pronouncement 
made  by  His  Majesty  that  the  time  has  come  when  the  principle  of 
representative  institutions,  which  from  the  first  began  to  be 
gi-adually  introduced  in  India,  may  be  prudently  extended,  and  that 
the  politic  satisfaction  of  the  claim  to  equality  of  citizenship  and 
greater  share  in  legislation  and  government  made  by  important 
classes  in  India,  representing  ideas  that  have  been  fostered  and 
encouraged  by  British  Rule,  will  strengthen,  not  impair,  existing 
authority  and  power. 

That  the  Congress  looks  forward  with  confidence  to  a  steady 
fulfilment  by  those  in  authority  under  the  Crown  in  letter  and  in 
spirit  of  the  pledges  and  assurances  contained  in  the  Great  Charter 
of  1858  and  in  His  Majesty's  Message  of  1908. 

Minto-Morley  Reforms 

II.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  give  expression 
III  the  deep  and  general  satisfaction  with  which  the  Reform  pro- 
posals formulated  in  Loi'd  Morley's  despatch  have  been  received 
throughout  the  countrj- ;  it  places  on  record  its  sense  of  high  states- 
manship which  has  dictated  the  action  of  the  Government  in  the 
matter,  and  it  tenders  to  Lord  Morley  and  Lord  Minto  its  most 
sincere  and  grateful  thanks  for  their  proposals. 

That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  proposed  expansion  of 
the  Legislative  Councils  and  the  enlargement  of  their  powers  and 
functions,  in  the  appointment  of  Indian  members  of  the  Executive 
Councils  with  the  creation  of  such  Councils  where  thej'  do  not  exist, 
and  the  further  development  of  Local  Self-Governnient,  constitute 
a  large  and  liberal  instalment  of  the  reforms  needed  to  give  the 
people  of  this  country  a  substantial  share  in  the  management  of 
their  affairs  and  to  bring  the  administration  into  closer  touch  with 
their  wants  and  feelings. 

That  this  Congress  expresses  its  confident  hope  that  the  details 
of  the  proposed  scheme  will  be  worked  out  in  the  same  liberal 
spirit  in  which  its  main  provisions,  as  outlined  in  the  Secretary  of 
State's  despatch,  have  been  conceived. 

Outrages 

III.  Resolved — That  this  Coi^gress  places  on  record  its 
emphatic  and  unqualified  condemnation  of  the  detestable  outrages 
and  deeds  of  violence  which  have  been  committed  recentlj^  in  some 
parts  of  the  country,  and  which  are  abhorrent  to  the  loyal,  humane 
and  peace-loving  nature  of  His  Majesty's  Indian  subjects  of  every 
denomination. 


486  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Indians  in  British  Colonies 

IV.  Rpsolvecl — That  this  Cougress  views  with  the  greatest 
indignation  the  harsh  and  Immiliating  and  cruel  treatment  to  which 
British  Indians,  even  of  the  highest  respectability  and  position 
have  been  subjected  bv  the  British  Colonies  in  South  Africa,  and 
expresses  its  alarm  at  the  likelihood  of  such  treatment  resulting  in 
far-reaching  consequences  of  a  mischievous  character  calculated  to 
cause  great  injury  to  the  best  interests  of  the  British  Empire,  and 
trusts  that  the  Imperial  Parliament,  when  granting  the  new  Consti- 
tution to  South  Africa,  will  secure  the  interests  of  the  Indian 
inhabitants  of  South  Africa. 

That  this  Congress  begs  earnestly  to  press  upon  the  Bi-itish 
Parliament  and  the  Government  of  India,  the  desirability  of  deal- 
ing with  the  Self-Governing  Colonies  in  the  same  manner  in  which 
the  latter  ruthlessly  deal  with  Indian  interests,  so  long  as  they 
adhere  to  the  selfish  and  one-sided  policy  which  they  pi'oclaim  and 
practise,  and  persist  in  their  present  coui-se  of  denying  to  His 
Majesty's  Indian  subjects  their  just  rights  as  citizens  of  the  Empire. 

That  this  Congress,  while  aAvare  of  the  declaration  of  responsi- 
ble statesmen  in  favour  of  allowing  the  Self-Governing  Colonies  in 
the  British  Empire  to  monopolise  vast  tracts  of  undeveloped  terri- 
tories for  exclusive  white  settlements,  deems  it  right  to  point  out 
tliat  the  policy  of  shutting  the  door  and  denying  the  I'ights  of  full 
British  citizenship  to  all  subjects  of  the  British  Crown,  while 
preaching  and  enforcing  the  opposite  policy  in  Asia  and  other  parts 
of  the  world,  is  fraught  with  grave  mischief  to  the  Empire  and  is  as 
unwise  as  it  is  unrighteous. 

Partition  of  Bengal 

Y.  Resolved — That  this  Congi-ess  earnestly  aijpeals  to  the 
Government  of  India  and  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India  to  reverse 
the  Partition  of  Bengal,  or  to  modify  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to  keep 
the  entire  Bengali-speaking  community  under  one  and  the  same 
administration. 

That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  rectification  of  this 
admitted  error  will  restore  contentmeTit  to  the  Province  of  Bengal, 
give  satisfaction  to  the  other  Provinces,  and  instead  of  impairing, 
will  enhance  the  jjrestige  of  His  Majestj-'s  Government  throughout 
the  country. 

Swadeshi 

\'I.  Resolveii — Tliat  tliis  Congress  accords  its  most  cordial 
support  to  the  Swadeshi  Movc^nient,  and  calls  u})on  tlie  peoj)U'  of  the 
couTitry  to  laljour  for  its  success  by  making  earnest  and  sustained 
efforts  to  promote  the  growth  of  industries  capable  of  de\-elopment 
in   the  country,  and   respond    to  the  eiforts  of  Indian  producers  by 


THE    TWENTY-THIRD    CONGRESS  487 

giving    preference,    wherever    practicable,   to   Indian  products  over 
imported  conamodities,  even  at  a  sacrifice. 

VII.  Resolved — -That  this  Congress  enters  its  emphatic  protest 
against  the  fresh  burden  of  £:?00,000  which  the  British  War  Office 
has  imposed  on  the  Indian  Exchequer  for  military  charges  on  the 
reconimendation  of  the  Ronier  Committee,  the  proceedings  of  which 
the  Under-Secretary  of  State  for  India  has  refused  to  lay  on  the  table 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  in  conti-avention  of  previous  practice  in 
such  matters. 

That  this  Congress  views  with  the  greatest  regret  the 
repeated  imposition  of  military  charges  by  the  British  War  Office  on 
the  Indian  tax-payer  from  the  date  of  the  Army  Amalgaination 
Scheme  of  1859,  in  regard  to  which  imposition  the  Government  of 
India  has  rejjeatedly  remonstrated. 

That  this  Congress  respectfully  urges  upon  the  attention  of  His 
Majesty's  Govenanent  the  necessity  of  revising  the  Army 
Amalgamation  Scheme  of  1859  in  the  light  of  the  experience  of  the 
last  fifty  years,  and  the  desirability  of  laying  down  a  fair  and 
reasonable  principle  which  shall  free  the  Indian  Exchequer  froia 
unjust  exactions  of  this  character. 

IX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  prays  that  the  high  recogni- 
tion of  the  valour  and  fidelity  of  the  Indian  troops  by  His  Majesty  the 
King-Emperor  in  his  Message  to  the  Princes  and  Peoples  of  India 
should  include  the  throwing  open  to  Indians  of  higher  careers  in  the 
Army,  from  which,  as  this  Congress  has  repeatedly  pointed  out, 
they  have  been  hitherto  excluded. 

Legal 

VIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  records  its  satisfaction 
that  the  proposal  for  the  separation  of  Executive  and  Judicial 
functions  has  received  the  sanction  of  the  Government  in  some 
definite  shape  for  the  Province  of  Bengal ;  but  is  at  the  same  time 
of  opinion  that  the  scheme  should  also  be  extended  throughout  the 
country,  and  that  it  will  not  succeed  in  its  object  unless  and  until 
the  entire  Judicial  Service  be  placed  directly  and  absolutely  under 
the  High  Court  or  Chief  Court,  as  the  case  may  be,  even  in  matters 
of  promotion  and  transfer. 

Coercion 

Lettres  de  cachet 

X.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  recent  deportations, 
and  the  grave  risk  of  injustice  involved  in  Government  action  based 
upon  ex  parte  and  untested  information,  and  having  regard  to  the 
penal  laws  of  the  country,  this  Congress  strongly  urges  upon  the 
Government    the   repeal    of  the    Bengal  Regulation  III  of  1818  and 


488  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

similar  Regulations  in  other  Provinces  of  India;  and  it  respectfully 
prays  that  the  persons  recently  deported  in  Bengal  be  given  an 
opportunity  of  exculpating  themselves,  or  for  meeting  any  charges 
that  may  be  against  them,  or  be  set  at  libert3% 

Acts  of  1908 

XI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  deplores  the  circumstances 
which  have  led  to  the  passing  of  Act  VII  of  1908  and  Act  XIV  of 
1908,  but  having  regard  to  their  drastic  character  and  to  the  fact 
that  a  sudden  emergency  alone  can  afford  any  justification  for  such 
exceptional  legislation,  this  Congress  expresses  its  earnest  hope 
that  these  enactments  will  only  have  a  temporary  existence  in  the 
Indian  Statute  Book. 

Provincial  Grievances 

XII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  urges  upon  the  Govern- 
ment the  necessity  of: 

[a)  placing  in  regard  to  legislative  and  administrative 
matters  the  Province  of  Berar  on  the  same  footing  as  the  Provinces 
included  in  British  India  ;  and 

{h)  establishing  a  Legislative  Council  for  the  combined 
territory  of  the  Ceuti'al  Provinces  and  Berar. 

High  Prices  of  Food-stuffs 

XIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  hav- 
ing regard  to  the  high  prices  of  food-stuli's  for  the  past  several 
years,  and  the  hardships  to  which  the  middle  and  poorer  classes 
are  put  thereby,  an  enquiry  should  be  instituted  by  Government 
into  the  causes  of  such  high  prices,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  how 
far  and  by  what  remedies  such  causes  could  be  removed. 

Eiducation 

XIV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
Government  should  take  immediate  steps  : 

(a)  to  make  Primary  Education  free  at  once  and  gradually 
»oompulsory  throughout  the  country, 

(6)  to  assign  larger  sums  of  money  to  Secondary  and  Higher 
Education  (special  encouragement  being  given  where  necessary  to 
•educate  all  backward  classes), 

(c)  to  make  adequate  provision  for  imparting  Industrial  and 
'Technical  Education  in  the  different  Provinces,  having  regard  to 
local  requirements,  and 

((/)  to  give  effective  voice  to  the  leaders  of  Indian  public 
opinion  in  shaj)ing  the  policy  and  system  of  Education  in  this 
countiy. 


THE    TWENTY-THIRD    CONGRESS  489 

111  the  opinion  of  this  Con^'ress  the  time  has  arrived  for 
people  all  over  the  country  to  take  up  earnestly  the  question  of 
supplementing  existing  institutions  and  the  efforts  of  the  Govern- 
ment by  organisinsr  for  themselves  an  independent  system  of 
Literary,  Scientific,  Technical,  and  Industrial  Education,  suited  to 
the  conditions  of  the  different  Provinces  in  the  country. 

Permanent  Settlement 

XV.  Resolved  — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
prosperity  of  an  agricultural  country  like  India  cannot  be  secured 
without  a  definite  limitation  of  the  State  demand  on  land,  and  it 
regrets  that  Lord  Curzon  in  his  Land  Resolution  of  1902  failed  to 
recognise  the  necessity  of  any  such  limitation,  and  declined  to 
accept  the  suggestions  of  Sir  Richard  Garth  and  other  memo- 
rialists on  the  matter. 

This  Congress  holds  that  in  Provinces  where  the  Permanent 
Settlement  does  not  now  exist,  a  reasonable  and  definite  limitation 
of  the  State  demand  and  the  introduction  of  Permanent  or  a 
Settlement  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  sixtj'  years,  are  the  only  true 
remedies  for  the  growing  impoverishment  of  the  agricultural 
population. 

This  Congress  emphatically  protests  against  the  view  that  the 
Land  Revenue  in  India  is  not  a  tax  but  is  in  the  nature  of  rent. 

Grief  of  Congress 

XVI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  records  its  sense  of  the 
great  loss  which  the  country  has  sustained  in  the  death  of: 

Mr.   Kalicharan  Bannerji, 

Pandit  Bishambarnath, 
Mr.  Alfred  Webb, 

Mr.  Bunsilal  Singh,  and 

Rai  Bahadur  P.   A.nanda  Charlii. 

Congratulations  and  Thanks 

XVII.  Resolved — (a)  That  the  following  message  be 
addressed  by  the  Congress  to  Mr.  A.  O.  Hume. 

This  Congress  sends  you  its  cordial  greetings  and  congratula- 
tions. The  reforms  announced  by  Lord  Morley  are  a  partial  fruition 
of  the  efforts  made  by  the  Congress  during  the  last  twenty-three 
years,  and  we  are  gratified  to  think  that  to  you,  as  its  father  and 
founder,  they  must  be  a  source  of  great  and  sincere  satisfaction. 

(b)  This  Congress  offers  its  sincere  congratulations  to  Sir 
William  Wedderburn,  Bart.,  on  his  recent  recovery  from  a  serious 
illness  and  takes  this  opj)ortunity  to  give  expression  to  its  deep 
gratitude    for   the    unfiagging    zeal    and    devotion,    and    the    love, 


490  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

patience  and  singleness  of  purpose  with  which  he  has  laboured  for 
the  Indian  cause  during  the  last  twenty  years,  and  which  has  been 
largely  instrumental  in  securing  for  Congress'  views  and 
representations  the  favourable  considei-ation  which  they  have 
received  in  England. 

(c)  This  Congress  desires  to  convey  to  members  of  the  British 
Committee  its  grateful  thanks  for  their  disinterested  and 
strenuous  services  in  the  cause  of   India's  political  advancement, 

XIX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  accords  its  most  hearty 
thanks  for  the  hospitality  with  which  the  Reception  Committee 
has  received  the  delegates  and  the  pei-fection  of  the  arrangements 
made  for  their  comfort  during  their  stay  in  Madras.  The  Congress 
also  thanks  the  Captain,  Lieutenants  and  Members  of  the  Congress 
Corps  for  the  trouble  they  have  taken  in  looking  after  the 
comforts  of  the  delegates,  and  in  being  ver^'  diligent  in  preserving- 
order  throughout  the  session. 

Formal 

XVIII.  Resolved — That  the  following  gentlemen  are 
appointed  members  of  the  All-India  Congress  Committee.  (List 
omitted). 

XX.  Resolved — That  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  and  the  Hon.  Mr.  Daji 
Abaji  Khare  be  appointed  General  Secretaries  for  the  ensuing  year. 

XXI.  Resolved — That  the  next  Congress  assemVjle  at  Lahore. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

The  Twenty-fourth  National  Congress  met  in  Lahore, 
in  the  Bradlaugh  Hall,  on  the  27th  December,  1909. 
There  was  a  great  chill  over  the  countr^y,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  way  in  which  the  Minto-Morley  Re- 
forms had  been  wrecked  by  the  rules  made  for  their 
carrying  out ;  the  Panjab  was  restless  and  sullen  ; 
the  number  of  delegates  dropped,  to  243,  and  only 
76  came  from  the  Panjab  itself  ;  the  Official  Report 
describes  the  Hall  as  "  fairly  well  filled ".  The 
delegates  were  distributed  as  follows  : 

Madras  20 


Bombay  (27),  Sindh  (30) 

Bengal 

C.  P.  and  Berar 

U.  P 

Panjab 


57 

20 

6 

64 

76 


243 


Lala  Harkishan  Lai,  the  Chairman  of  the  Re- 
ception Committee  welcomed  the  President-elect 
and  the  delegates.  His  speech  was  in  the  minor 
key,  for  the  Congress  had  been  attacked  on  all 
sides  ;  some  said  it  was  disloyal  at  heart,  others  that 
it  excited  the  young  and   so  caused  tendencies  which 


492  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

would  lead  to  violence ;  others  said  its  day- 
was  over.  The  Muslim  League  and  the  Hindu 
Conference  had  both  assailed  it.  Hence  the  smallness 
of  their  gathering.  He  condemned  the  Council 
Regulations  as  unjust  and  impolitic,  and  disapproved 
of  the  Land  Legislation  embodied  in  the  Acts  of  1900, 
1905  and  1907.  He  called  on  Mr.  Surendranath 
Bannerji  to  propose  that  Pandit  Madan  Mohan 
Malaviya  should  take  the  Chair. 

Surendranath  Babu  welcomed  him  as  President,  as 
one  of  the  earliest  and  most  devoted  of  Congressmen  ; 
he  remembered  him  in  1886,  when  he  made  his  first 
speech,  which  marked  him  out  as  a  future  leader, 
and  that  promise  had  been  fulfilled.  They  owed  him 
special  thanks,  in  that  though  sufi^ering  from  the 
eifects  of  malarial  fever,  he  had  stepped  forward  to  fill 
the  vacancy  suddenly  occurring  in  the  Presidentship 
of  the  Congress,  an  act  of  devoted  self-sacrifice. 
Mr.  G.  K.  Parekh  seconded,  Dewan  Bahadur  L.  A. 
Govindaraghava  Aiyar  and  Raizada  Bhagat  Ram 
supported,  and  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya  took 
the  Chair  amid  loud  applause. 

The  President  alluded  to  the  sudden  resignation  of 
Sir  Pherozeshah  Mehta,  the  duly  elected  President, 
only  six  days  before  the  Congress,  and  the  great 
disappointment  caused.  He  had  had  no  time  for  pre- 
paration, but  would  try  to  do  his  best.  They  had  to 
mourn  the  loss  of  Mr.  Lalmohan  Ghose  and  Mr. 
Romesh  Chandra  Dutt,  and  also  of  that  true  friend  of 
India,  the  Marquis  of  Ripon.  I'he  President  then 
turned    to  the  total  change  of  feeling  among  educated 


THE    TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS  493 

Indians :  at  the  last  Congress  they  had  hailed  the 
Refoi-ms  with  jo}^ ;  the  Regulations,  issued  five  weeks 
before  the  present  Congress,  had  caused  widespread 
disajDpointment  and  dissatisfaction.  He  then  sketched 
the  history  of  the  claim  for  representative  Government 
from  1876,  when  Messrs.  Surendranath  Bannerji  and 
Ananda  Mohan  Bose  had  established  the  Indian 
Association  of  Calcutta,  which  had  representative 
Covernment  among  its  objects.  The  most  striking 
feature  of  the  Reforms  was  the  admission  of  Indians  to 
the  Executive  Councils  of  the  Viceroy  and  of  the 
Governors  of  Madras  and  Bombay.  The  United 
Provinces,  with  a  population  of  48  millions,  far  larger 
than  either  Madras  (38  millions)  or  Bombay  (19 
millions),  was  not  given  an  Executive  Council.  The 
Regulations  had  introduced  religion  into  politics, 
and  had  differentiated  electorates  by  religious  beliefs. 
Muhammadan  minorities  were  given  separate  elector- 
ates and  were  alloAved  also  to  vote  in  the  general  elec- 
torates, while  Hindu  minorities  in  the  Panjab  and 
Assam  enjoyed  no  such  electorates.  Further  a  Muham- 
madan who  paid  an  income-tax  on  Rs.  3,000  a  year, 
money  or  land  revenue,  had  a  vote.  But  the  non- 
Muhammadan  paying  on  three  lakhs  of  rupees  had 
no  vote.  Muhammadan  graduates  of  five  years  stand- 
ing had  a  vote;  non-Muhammadan  graduates  of 
thirty  years  had  none.  Again,  only  members  of 
Municipal  and  District  Boards  were  eligible  to  the 
Provincial  Councils.  The  President  pointed  out  the 
many  other  defects,  such  as  the  nominations  which 
made   the   "  non-oflicial  majority  "  a   farce,  except  in 


494  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Bengal,  thanks  to  Sir  Edward  Baker.  He  then  spoke 
on  a  number  of  other  questions,  expressed  the  deep 
sorrow  of  the  Congress  for  the  murders  of  Sir  William 
Curzon-Wylie,  Dr.  Lalkaha  and  Mr.  Jackson,  and  for 
the  attempt  on  the  life  of  the  V^iceroy,  condemned  the 
deportations,  the  Partition  of  Bengal,  and  the  Panjab 
Land  Alienation  Act.  Pie  concluded  a  fine  speech 
— when  did  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  speak  otherwise 
than  finely  't — by  defending  the  Congress,  and  depre- 
cating sectarianism,  and  then  moved  from  the  Chair 
the  first  three  Resolutions,  grieving  for  the  loss  of 
Messrs.  Lalmohan  Ghose  and  Romesh  Chandra  Dntt, 
and  for  that  of  the  Marquis  of  Ripon,  and  thanking 
the  Government  for  appointing  the  Hon.  Sir  S.  P. 
Sinha  a  member  of  the  Viceroy's  Executive  Council, 
and  the  Right  Hon.  Mr.  Amir  Ali  a  member  of  the 
Privy  Council. 

The  delegates  from  each  Province  were  then  re- 
quested to  elect  the  Subjects'  Committee,  and  the 
Congress  adjourned. 

On  the  second  day  the  first  place  was  given  to  the 
Regulations  under  the  India  Council  Act  of  1909, 
and  Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  moved  Resolution  lY, 
embodying  the  Congress  view.     It  ran  : 

That  this  Congress  while  gratefully  appi^eciating 
the  earnest  and  arduous  endeavours  of  Lord  Morley  and 
Loi^d  Minto  in  extending  to  the  people  of  this  country  a 
fairly  liberal  measure  of  constitutional  reforms,  as  now 
embodied  in  the  India  Councils'  Act  of  1909,  deems  it  its 
duty  to  place  on  record  its  strong  sense  of  disapproval  of 
the  creation  of  sepjirate  electorates  on  the  basis  of  religion 
and  regrets  that  the  Regulations  framed  under  the  Act 
have  not    been   framed  in    tlie  same  liV;eral  spirit  in  which 


THE    TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGKESS  495 

Lord  Morley's  despatch  of  last  year  was  conceived.  In 
particular  the  Eegulations  have  caused  widespread 
dissatisfaction  throughout  the  country  by  reason  of  : 

(a)  the  excessive  and  unfairly  preponderant  share  of 
representation  given  to  the  followers  of  one  particular 
religion  ; 

(6)  the  unjust,  invidious,  and  humiliating  distinctions 
made  between  Muslim  and  non-Muslim  subjects  of  His 
Majesty  in  the  matter  of  the  electorates,  the  franchise, 
and  the  qualifications  of  candidates  ; 

(c)  the  wide,  arbitrary  and  unreasonable  disqualifica- 
tion and  restrictions  for  candidates  seeking  election  to  the 
Councils  ; 

(d)  the  general  distrust  of  the  educated  classes  that 
runs  through  the  whole  course  of  the  Regulations;  and 

(e)  the  unsatisfactory  composition  of  the  non-ofiicial 
majorities  in  the  Provincial  Councils,  rendering  them 
ineffective  and  unreal  for  all  practical  purpose.^. 

And  this  Congress  earnestly  requests  the  Government 
so  to  revise  the  Regulations,  as  soon  as  the  present  elections 
are  over,  as  to  remove  these  objectionable  features,  and 
bring  them  into  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  Royal 
Message  and  the  Secretary  of  State's  despatch  of  last  year.  . 

Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  pointed  out  : 

It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  Rules  and  Re- 
gulations have  practically  wrecked  the  Reform  scheme  as 
originally  conceived  with  a  beneficence  of  purpose  and  a 
statesmanlike  grasp  that  did  honour  to  all  that  are 
associated  with  it  .  .  .  Who  wrecked  the  scheme  ?  Who 
converted  that  promising  experiment  into  a  dismal 
failure  !"    The   responsibility   rests   upon   the  shoulders  of 

the     bureaucracy Is    the     bureaucracy    having    its 

revenge  upon  us  for  the  part  we  have  played  in  securing 
these  concessions  P 

One  point  he  strongly  urged  was  the  disqualification 
of    many    of    the    most     distinguished    men     by    the 


496  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

qualifications  demanded  for  eligibility.  Further,  the 
non-official  majority  was  a  delusion,  for  nominees  of 
the  Government  usually  voted  with  the  (lovernment. 
Still,  let  them  not  abandon  hope. 

Let  us  see  to  it  that,  in  the  depths  of  our  desperation, 
we  do  not  forget  the  immemorial  traditions  of  our  race, 
or  renounce  the  unalteral^le  faith  which  is  ours  in  the 
ultimate  triumph  of  constitutional  and  righteous  means 
for  the  attainment  of  National  regeneration. 

Dewan Bahadur  L.  A.  Govindaraghava  Iyer  seconded 
the  Resolution,  dealing  especially  with  his  own  Prov- 
ince, and  showed  that  to  say  there  was  a  non-official 
majority  in  Madras  was  "  a  travesty  of  truth ". 
Mr.  Harichandrai  Vishandas  said  that  the  pteans  of 
praise  sung  in  chorus  in  the  last  Congress  were  a 
little  too  previous,  and  the  benedictions  of  their 
leaders  were  premature.  Mr.  Syed  Hasan  was 
against  all  communal  representation.  The  Hon. 
Munshi  Ganga  Prasad  Varma  analysed  the  effect  of 
the  Regulations  in  the  U.  P.  Mr.  J.  B.  Petit  showed 
that  religions  and  i^ace  hatreds  would  be  aroused  by 
the  Regulations ;  if  one  minority  were  represented, 
others  should  be.  The  Resolution  was  further  sup- 
ported by  Messrs.  Rajpal  Kane,  Pandit  Gokarannath 
Misra,  Messrs.  Rambhuj  Dutt  Choudhuri,  Harnam 
Das,  and  A.  Choudhuri,  and  unanimously  carried. 

Resolution  V,  urging  the  formation  of  Executive 
Councils  in  the  United  Provinces,  the  Panjab,  Eastern 
Bengal,  Assam,  and  Burma,  was  moved  by  Dr.  Tej 
Bahadur  Sapru,  who  rapidly  outlined  the  history  of 
Ao-ra  in  respect  to  this  question,  and  showed  the 
absurdity  of  a  Province  containing  48  millions  of  people 


THE    TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS  497 

being  governed  by  one  man,  a  Lieutenant-Governor, 
without  an  Executive  Council.  Dewan  Laclimi  Narain 
seconded  the  Eesolution,  and  it  was  supported  by  Lala 
Hakamchand  and  Moulvi  Abdul  Qasini,  and  carried. 
Resolution  VI  criticised  the  Panjab  Regulations 
under  the  Act,  and  Mr.  Sundar  Singh  Bhatia, 
moving  it,  said  that  the  educated  community  of  the 
Panjab  was  in  a  state  of  profound  disappointment, 
bordering  on  despair.  For  the  first  time  a  barrier 
was  raised  between  Muhammadans  and  non- 
Muhammadans,  the  Hindus  were  relegated  to  a 
subordinate  position,  and,  in  spite  of  all  their  efforts, 
were  thrown  back.  Under  Muhammadan  rule,  the 
highest  offices  were  open  to  Hindus ;  now  they  were 
sent  to  a  back  seat.  Lala  Dharmdas  Suri  second- 
ed, and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Mr.  C.  Y,  Chintamani  moved  Resolution  A'^II,  com- 
plaining of  the  treatment  of  the  Central  Provinces  and 
Berar,  which  had  not  even  a  Legislative  Council,  Berar 
being  peculiarly  unfortunate  in  that  in  disabilities 
it  was  British  territory,  but  from  privileges  it  was 
excluded  as  belonging  to  the  Nizam.  Mr.  N.  A. 
Dravid  seconded,  saying  that  Berar  was  held  from  the 
Nizam  on  a  perpetual  lease,  which  Avas  a  doom  of 
perpetual  disfranchisement.  Being  under  British 
administration,  they  have  no  rights  under  the  Nizam, 
and  not  being  British  subjects  they  could  not  be 
represented  in  British  India.  The  Resolution  was 
carried  and  the  Congress  adjourned. 

On  the  third  day,  Mr.  Bhupendranath  Basu  moved 
Resolution  VIII,  asking  for  a  modification  of  the 
39 


498  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Partition  of  Bengal,  and  appointing  Mr.  Surendranatli 

Bannerji   and   himself  as  a  deputation  to  England,  to 

lay  the  question  before  the  authorities  and  the  public. 

He  said    the  Bengalis   would  not   rest  until  they  were 

re-united,  for  the  boys  of  eastern  and  western  Bengal 

were  now  separated,  brought  up  under  different  ideals 

of  manhood.  East  Bengal  was  police-ridden,  tyrannised 

over,   boys  were   arrested,  and  thousands  of  lads  were 

being    driven  into    the   camp  of    the  extremists,  filled 

with   bitter  hostility.     The  speaker  concluded  with  a 

passage  of   splendid  and  moving  eloquence,  declaring 

that  Bengal  would  never  admit  its  cause  was  lost  : 

I  stand  before  you,  I,  a  Bengali  from  Bengal,  one  of 
a  very  small  number  of  men  who  have  been  able  to  come 
to  your  Province  to  attend  this  Congress.  I  stand  before 
you,  I  stand  at  the  bar  of  my  own  country,  I  stand  before 
the  best  and  the  highest  men  in  all  India,  I  stand  like  a 
neophyte  at  the  altar  which  you  have  raised  for  the  wor- 
ship of  our  Mother,  to  plead  for  a  cause  which  to  others 
may  seem  to  be  lost,  to  re-vitalise  what  to  others  may 
seem  a  vanished  hope.  Geiitlemen,  so  long  as  the  Ben- 
gali race  will  last,  so  long  as  the  blood  which  flows 
through  our  veins  courses  through  generations  yet  unborn, 
so  long  as  the  picture  of  a  United  India  remains  on  our 
vision,  so  long  as  the  mighty  rivers  of  my  native  Province 
flow  on  in  their  majesty  and  glory  to  the  sea,  so  long  as 
the  fields  and  meadows  of  East  Bengal  wave  in  all  their 
verdant  glory,  our  cause  will  not  be  lost.  So  long  as  the 
inspiriting  strains  of  Bande  Mataram  put  new  heart  into 
generations  of  Bengalis  yet  to  come,  our  cause  will  not  be 
lost.  For  the  moment  we  may  have  suffered  defeat.  For 
the  moment  the  question  seems  to  l)e  settled,  but,  God 
willing,  wo  sliall  yet  tui'u  tlie  defeat  into  victory. 

And  they  did. 

Mr.  K.  Ekambara  Iyer  seconded,  Mr.  Parameshwar 
Lai  supported  the  Kesolution  and  it  was  carried. 


THE    TTVENTY-FOURTH    CONaRESS  499 

Resolution    IX     was     moved     by     the     Hon.     ^Ir. 

G.  K.  Grokhale,   and   embodied    the    cry  for  help  from 

the  Indians  in  South  Africa.     He  sketched  the  history 

of  the   Indians  in  the  Transvaal  under  the  Boers,  the 

Crown,  and  the  Colonial  Grovernment.  He  then  described 

the  endless  negotiations  and  the  breaches  of  faith,  and 

the  long    patient  struggle  of  the  Indians   led  by  Mr. 

Gandhi  ;  now  the  Congress  said  to  the  Government  of 

India  that  "  they  have  made  endless  representations, 

but  so    far    they    have  produced  no  effect.     The  time 

has    come    for    retaliation."     The    Indians    in    South 

Africa     were     engaged     in    the    passive     resistance 

struggle  : 

^Yhat  is  the  passive  resistance  struggle  ?  It  is 
essentially  defensive  in  its  nature,  and  it  fights  with 
moral  and  spiritual  weapons.  A  passive  resister  re- 
sists tyranny  by  undergoing  suffering  in  his  own  person. 
He  pits  soul  force  as'ainst  brute  force  ;  he  pits  the  divine 
in  man  against  the  brute  in  man  ;  he  pits  suffering 
against  oppression,  pits  conscience  against  might ;  he  pits 
faith  against  injustice  ;  right  against  wrong. 

Mr.    Dipnarrain    Singh    seconded,   and   Mr.   G.   A. 

Natesan    supported.      Mr.     Natesan     has   made    this 

question   his   own,   and  he   spoke   eloquently  out  of  a 

full   heart   and  a  mir.d  stored   with  facts.    Mr.   Malik 

Girdharilal,   Mr.    Iswara    Saran,   Pandit   Dey  Eattfm, 

and   Messrs.    C.    R.    Xaidu    and   Lutchman     Panday 

followed.      Then  Mr.  H.    S.  L.  Polak,   the    delegate 

from  the  Transvaal,  spoke,  urging  India  to  sympathise 

with   and  to    support   the  men  who  were  suffering  for 

India's    honour.     Mr.    Surendranath  Bannerji    called 

for  monetary    help,  and  a  collection  was  made   amid 

great    enthusiasm;    Rs.    15,000    were   soon  collected, 


500  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

and  in    half    an  hour   another  Rs.  3,000   wei'e  added. 
The  Resolution  was  formally  cai^ied. 

Mr.  A.  Choudhuri  moved  Resolution  X,  calling  for 
the  repeal  of  the  Regulations  giving  the  power  to 
deport  and  to  keep  in  prison  persons  without  trial. 
Mr.  H.  S.  Dixit  seconded,  and  Mr.  A.  S.  Krishna  Rao 
supported  the  Resolution,  and  it  was  carried. 

Resolution  XI,  on  opening  the  higher  grades  in  the 
Army  to  Indians,  was  moved  by  Mr.  Senathi  Raja, 
seconded  by  Sardar  Gurmukh  Singh,  and  carried. 

Lala  Sangam  Lai  moved  Resolution  XII,  which  ask- 
ed for  a  Commission  to  enquire  into  the  results  of  the 
laws  restricting  alienation  of  land,  as  grave  dissatis- 
faction was  being  caused  by  their  operation  in  the 
Panjab.  He  traced  the  history  of  the  Panjab  in 
relation  to  the  large  class  of  yeomen  proprietors 
there,  and  showed  how  the  causes  which  were  working 
elsewhere  in  India  to  impoverish  the  agriculturists 
were  also  operating  in  the  Panjab,  and  the  land 
legislation  was  based  on  a  mistaken  idea.  Lala 
Bhana  Ram  seconded,  and  Mr.  Mathra  Das,  Lala  Ram, 
Sardar  Mehr  Singh  Chawla,  and  Mr.  B.  Y,  Vidwans 
all  supported,  and  the  Resolution  was  carried, 

Mr.  N.  M.  Samarth  moved  Resolution  XIII  on  the 
Public  Service,  noting  that  Lord  Morley  had  repudiat- 
ed Lord  Curzon's  translation  of  the  Proclamation  of 
1858,  for,  in  the  Royal  Message  of  1908,  he  said  that 
the  Proclamation  aimed  at  "  obliterating  all  distinc- 
tions of  race ".  Rai  Bahadur  Khandu  Bai  Desai 
seconded,  Dr.  Ranjit  Singh  spoke  for  the  Medical 
Service,  and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 


THE    TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS  50l 

Resolution  XIV  was  moved  by  Mr.  Peter  Paul 
Pillai,  and  dealt  with  the  high  prices  of  food-stuffs, 
and  asked  for  a  Commission  of  Enquiry.  Professor 
V.  Gr.  Kale  seconded,  and  it  was  supported  by 
Mr.  Wacha  and  Pandit  Grovind  Sahai  Sharma,  and 
carried. 

The  President  moved  from  the  Chair  Resolution 
XV  on  the  Swadeshi  Movement ;  XVI  on  Education; 
XVII  on  the  Separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive 
Functions  ;  all  of  which  were  carried. 

Resolution  XA^III  asked  for  an  enquiry  into  the 
dissatisfaction  existing  in  the  N.  W.  P.  Frontier 
Province,  and  it  was  moved  by  Mr.  Purushottam  Lai. 
Mr.  Sunder  Singh  Bhatia,  in  seconding,  pointed  out 
that  there  was  no  security  for  life  or  property  for 
Hindus  in  that  Province,  and  that  there  was  a  special 
form  of  trial,  called  Jirga,  in  which  a  number  of  Sardars, 
without  any  knowledge  of  criminal  law,  tried  and 
sentenced  men  to  long  terms  of  imprisonment.  The 
Resolution  was  carried. 

The  President  put  from  the  Chair  Resolu- 
tion XIX,  thanking  Mr.  Hume,  Sir  William 
Wedderburn  and  Sir  Henry  Cotton  ;  Resolution  XX, 
appointing  the  All-India  Committee  as  elected ; 
Resolution  XXII,  re-electing  Messrs.  D.  E.  Wacha 
and  D.  A.  Khare  as  General  Secretaries;  Reso- 
lution XXIII,  thanking  the  few  volunteers  who  had 
done  the  work  usually  done  by  students  ten  times 
their  numbei',  coming  forward  when  a  circular  from 
the  educational  authorities  forced  the  students  to 
withdraw. 


502  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Dr.  Tej  Bahadur  Sapru  then  invited  the  Congress 
to  meet  in  Allahabad  in  the  following  year,  and  the 
invitation  was  accepted. 

With  the  vote  of  thanks  and  the  President's  final 
speech,  the  Twenty-fourth  Congress  ended. 

RESOLUTIONS 

The  Grief  of  Congre-fs 

I.  Resolved — 'That  tliis  Coiij^ress  desires  to  place  on  recoi'd 
its  sense  of  the  great  and  irreparable  loss  which  the  country  and 
the  community  has  sustained  by  the  deaths  of  Mr.  Lahnohau 
Ghose  and  Mr.  Romesh  Chandra  Dutt,  both  past  Presidents  of 
the  Congress.  Their  services  to  the  country  will  always 
remain  enshrined  in  the  grateful  recollection  of  their  countrymen. 

II.  Resolved — That  the  Congress  records  its  sense  of  the 
great  loss  that  this  country  has  sustained  by  the  death  of  the 
Marquis  of  Rijaon,  who  by  his  beneficent,  progressive,  and 
statesmanlike  policy,  as  Viceroy  uf  India,  earned  the  lasting  esteem, 
affection  and  gratitude  of  all  classes  of  His  Majesty's  subjects. 

Thanks  of  Congress 

III.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  thanks  the  Government  of 
His  Imperial  Majesty  for  appointing  the  Hon.  Mr.  S.  P.  Sinha  as  a 
member  of  His  Excellency  the  Guvemior-General's  Executive 
Council  and  ihe  Rt.  Hon.  Mr.  Amir  Ali  as  a  member  of  bhe  Privy 
Council. 

[See  XIII]. 

XXI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  convey  to  Sir 
William  Wedderbuz-n,  Mr.  A.  O.  Hume,  Sir  Henry  Cotton,  and  other 
members  of  the  British  Committee,  its  grateful  thanks  for  their 
disinterested  and  strenuous  services  in  the  cause  of  India's  ])olitical 
advancement. 

XXIII.  Resolved — That  the  thanks  of  this  Congress  be  given 
to  the  volunteers,  who  supi^lied  the  place  of  the  students,  with- 
drawn by  the   Pjducational  Authorities. 

Representation 

[For  Resolution  IV,  on  Council  Rcforuis,  see  ))p.  •4i)4,  495]. 

Executive  Cull ncilif 

V.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  while  regretting  that  CI.  3 
of  the    India  Councils  Bill,  under   which  jjower  was  to  be  given  to 


THE    TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS  503 

the  Governor-General  in  Council  to  create  Executive  Councils  to 
assist  the  heads  of  the  Government  in  the  United  Provinces,  the 
Panjab,  Eastern  Bengal,  Assam  and  Burma,  was  not  passed  as 
originally  framed,  earnestly  urges  that  action  may  be  taken  at  an 
early  date  under  the  Act  to  create  Executive  Councils  in  the  above- 
named  Provinces. 

Panjab 

VI.  Eesolved — That  this  Congress  records  its  ojjinioii  that 
the  Eegulations  framed  for  the  Panjab,  under  the  Eeform  scheme, 
fail  to  give  satisfaction  for  the  following  reasons,  viz. — 

(«)  In  that  the  numerical  sti-ength  of  the  Council  provided 
for  in  the  Regulations  is  not  sufficient  to  allow  an  adequate 
representation  to  all  classes  and  interests  of  the  population,  nor  is 
it  commensurate  with  the  jirogress  made  by  this  Province,  in 
matters  social,  educational,  industrial  and  commercial. 

(h)  In  that  the  elected  element  prescribed  by  the  Regula- 
tions for  the  Local  Council  is  unduly  small  and  altogether 
insufficient  to  meet  the  needs  and  requirements  of  this  Province, 
and  compares  very  unfavourably  with  that  accorded  to  other 
Provinces,  not  more  advanced. 

(c)  In  that  the  principle  of  protection  of  minorities,  which 
has  been  applied  in  the  case,  of  non-Muhammadans  in  Pi-ovinces 
whei'e  they  are  in  a  minority,  has  not  been  applied  in  the  case  of 
non-Muhammadans  who  are  in  a  minority  in  the  Panjab,  both  in 
the  Provincial  and  Imperial  Councils. 

(d)  In  that  the  Regulations,  as  fi-amed,  tend  practically  to 
keep  out  nou-Muhammadans  from  the  Imperial  Council. 

Berur  and  C.  P. 

VII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  give  expression 
to  the  dissatisfaction  produced  among  the  people  of  the  Central 
Provinces  and  Berar  by  the  decision  of  the  Government  not  to 
establish  a  Provincial  Legislative  Council  for  those  territories,  and 
by  the  exclusion  of  Berar  from  jjarticipation  in  the  election  of  two 
members  of  the  Imperial  Legislative  Council  by  the  landholders 
and  members  of  District  and  Municipal  Boards  of  the  Central 
Provinces,  and  this  Congress  appeals  to  the  Government  to  remove 
the  aforesaid  complaints  at  an  early  date. 

Local    Selj'-G overmnent 

XVIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  expresses  its  satisfac- 
tion that  the  Secretary  of  State  has  recognised  that  the  Local 
Self-Government  Scheme  of  1882,  has  not  had  a  fair  trial,  and  has 
pressed  on  the  Government  of  India  the  necessity  of  an  effectual 
advance  in  the  direction  of  making  local,  urban  and  raral  bodies 
really    self-govei-ning,    and  it  expresses  the   earnest  hope  that  the 


504  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Government  will  be  pleased  to  take  early  steps  to  make  all  Local 
Bodies,  from  village  paiicliayats  upwards,  elective,  with  elected 
non-official  chairmen,  and  snjtport  them  with  adequate  financial  aid. 

The   Partition  of  Bengal 

VIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  earnestly  appeals  to  the 
Government  of  India  and  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  not  to 
treat  the  question  of  the  Partition  of  Bengal  as  incapable  of  recon- 
sideration, but  to  take  the  earliest  opportunity  so  to  modify  the 
said  Partition  as  to  keep  the  entire  Bengali-sjseaking  community 
under  one  and  the  same  administration. 

That  this  Congress  humbly  submits  that  the  rectification  of 
this  admitted  error  will  be  an  act  of  far-sighted  statesmanship. 
It  will  restore  contentment  to  the  Province  of  Bengal,  give 
satisfaction  to  other  Provinces,  and  enhance  the  prestige  of  His 
Majesty's  Government  throughout  the  country. 

That  this  Congress  appoints  Messrs.  Surendranath  Bannerji 
and  Bhuiiendranatli  Bose  to  proceed  to  England  as  a  dej^utation,  to 
lay  tlie  c^uestion  of  the  Partition  before  the  authorities  and  jaublic 
there. 

South   Africa 

IX.  Eesolved — That  this  Congress  expresses  its  great  admi- 
ration of  the  intense  patriotism,  courage  and  self-sacrifice  of  the 
Indians  in  the  Transvaal,  Muhammadan  and  Hindu,  Zoroastrian  and 
Christian — who,  heroically  suffering  jjersecution  in  the  interests  of 
their  country,  are  cari-ying  on  their  peaceful  and  selfless  struggle  for 
elementary  civil  rights  against  heavy  and  overwhelming  odds. 

That  this  Congress  offers  its  warmest  encouragement  to 
Mr.  M.  K.  Gandhi  and  his  brave  and  faithful  associates,  and  calls  upon 
all  Indians  of  whatever  race  or  creed  to  help  them  unstintedly  with 
funds ;  and  in  this  connection  the  Congress  begs  to  convey  to 
Mr.  E.  J.  Tata  its  high  appi-eciation  of  the  patriotic  instincts  which 
have  inspired  his  munificent  donation  of  Rs.  25,000  to  liis  suffering 
countrymen  in  South  Africa  in  their  hour  of  need  and  trial. 

That  this  Congress  begs  earnestly  to  press  upon  the  Government 
of  India  the  necessity  of  prohibiting  the  recruitment  of  indentured 
Indian  labour  for  any  jjortion  of  the  South  African  Union,  and  of 
dealing  with  the  authorities  there  in  the  same  manner  in  which  the 
latter  deal  with  Indian  interests,  so  long  as  they  adhere  to  the 
selfish  and  one-sided  policy  which  they  proclaim  and  practise,  and 
persist  in  their  present  course  of  denying  to  His  Majesty's  Indian 
subjects  their  just  rights  as  citizens  of  the  Empire, 

That  tliis  Congress  protests  against  the  declaration  of  resiJon- 
sible  statesmen  in  favour  of  allowing  the  Self-Govei'ning  Colonies  in 


THE    TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS  505 

the  British  Empire  to  monoiiolise  vast  undeveloped  tex^ritories  for 
exclusive  white  settlement,  and  deems  it  its  duty  to  point  out  that 
the  25olicy  of  shutting  the  door  in  these  territories  and  denj'ing  the 
I'igbtsof  full  British  citizenship  to  all  Asiatic  subjects  of  the  British 
Crown,  while  preaching  and  enforcing  the  opposite  policy  of  the 
open  door  in  Asia,  is  fraught  with  grave  mischief  to  the  Empire  and 
is  as  u^nwise  as  it  is  unrighteous. 

Coercion 

Leifres  dc  caclief 

X.  Resolved — That,  having  regard  to  the  grave  risk  of  injustice 
in  Government  action  based  upon  ex-parte  and  untested  information, 
and  to  the  sufficiency  for  reasonably  preventive  and  punitive 
pur^joses  of  other  provisions  on  the  Statute  Book  of  the  country, 
this  Congress  urges  upon  the  Government  the  repeal  of  the  old 
llegulations  relating  to  deportation,  and  prays  that  the  joersons  who 
were  last  year  deported  from  Bengal  be  set  at  liberty  without 
further  detention,  or  be  given  an  opportunity  to  meet  the  charges, 
if  any,  that  may  be  against  them,  and  for  which  they  have  been 
condemned  unheard. 

Military 

XI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  protests  against  the 
continued  exclusion  of  the  children  of  the  soil  from  higher  military 
careers,  and  in  urging  that  such  careers  be  thrown  open  to  them, 
suggests  the  establishment  of  Military  Colleges,  at  which  Indians 
may  receive  the  training  necessary  to  qualify  them  for  His 
Majesty's  commission  in  the  Array. 

[See  XIX  (b)]. 

JLand  Laws 

XII.  Resolved— That  having  regard  to  the  grave  dissatisfac- 
tion caused  by  the  operation  of  the  Land  Alienation  and  allied  Acts 
among  large  sections  of  the  community  in  the  Pan  jab  and 
elsewhere,  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  time  has  arrived 
for  instituting  a  thorough  and  detailed  enquiry  into  the  policy  and 
working  of  the  laws  restricting  alienation  of  land  in  Provinces 
where  such  laws  are  in  operation  ;  and  urges  Government  to 
appoint  a  mixed  Commission  of  officials  and  representative  non- 
official  Indians  to  institute  an  enquiry,  in  order  to  ascertain 
whether  the  legislation  has  really  benetited  the  interests  of 
agriculture  and  of  the  class  intended  to  be  benefited  by  it,  and 
whether  it  has  given  rise  in  actual  operation  to  anomalies, 
hardships  and  disabilities,  calculated  to  injure  the  growth  and 
prospects  of  the  agricultural  industry,  and  cause  discontent  among 
any  particular  class  or  section   of  the  community. 


506  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR   FREEDOM 

Public  Service 

XIII.  Resolved— («)  That  this  Congress  gratefully  recognises 
the  efforts  that  have  been  made  dui-ing  the  last  three  years  by  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  India  and  the  Viceroy  to  give  gracious  effect  to 
the  policy,  laid  down  in  the  great  Charter  of  1858,  and  reiterated 
in  His  Majesty's  message  of  last  year,  of  obliterating  distinctions 
of  race  in  conferring  higher  offices  on  the  people  of  India  in  the 
Public  Service  of  the  country. 

That  this  Congress,  however,  is  strongly  of  opinion  tliat  in 
order  to  carry  out  this  policy  effectively,  the  Resolution  of  the 
House  of  Commons  of  2nd  June,  1893,  should  be  given  effect 
to,  and  all  examinations  held  in  England  only  should  be 
simultaneously  held  in  India  and  in  England,  and  all  first  appoint- 
ments for  the  higher  branches  of  the  Public  Service,  which  are 
made  in  India,  should  be  by  competitive  examination  only. 

(h)  That  this  Congress  thanks  the  Secretary  of  State  (1)  For 
his  despatch  regarding  the  employment  in  the  superior  posts  of 
the  Civil  Medical  Service  of  qualified  medical  men,  not  belonging  to 
the  Indian  Medical  Service,  and  earnestly  requests  the  Government 
of  India  to  take  early  action  in  the  direction  pointed  out  by 
the  Secretary  of  State.  (2)  That  in  the  interests  of  the  public, 
the  medical  service  and  the  px'ofession,  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of 
economy  in  expenditure,  this  Congress,  concurring  with  previous 
Congresses,  urges  the  constitution  of  a  distinct  Indian  Civil 
Medical  Service,  wholly  independent  of  the  Indian  Military  Medical 
Service. 

High  Prices  of  Food-stuffs 

XIV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that,  having 
regard  to  tJie  high  prices  of  food-stuffs  current  during  the  past 
several  years,  and  the  hardships  to  which  the  middle  and  poorer 
classes  in  particular  are  put  thereby,  an  enquiry  by  a  properly 
constituted  Commission  should  be  instituted  by  the  G-overnment 
into  the  causes  of  such  higli  prices,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  how  far 
and  by  what  remedies  that  evil  could  be  removed  or  its  effects 
minimised. 

Swadeshi 

XV.  Resolved — Tliat  this  Congress  accords  its  most  cordial 
support  to  the  Swadeshi  Movement,  and  calls  upon  the  i)eoj)le  of 
the  country  to  labour  for  its  success  by  making  earnest  and  sustain- 
ed efforts  to  promote  the  growth  of  industries,  capable  of 
development  in  the  country,  and  to  respond  to  the  efforts  of  Indian 
producers  by  giving  preference  whenever  practicable  to  Indian 
products  over  imported  commodities,  even  at  a  saci'ifice. 


THE    TWENTY-FOURTH    CONGRESS  507 

Education 

XVI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
Government  should  take  immediate  steps  : 

(a)  to  make  Primary  Education  free  at  once  and  gradually 
compulsory  throughout  the  country  ; 

(b)  to  assign  larger  sums  of  money  to  Secondary  and  Higher 
Education  (special  encouragement  being  given  where  necessary  to 
educate  all  backward  classes)  ; 

(f)  to  make  adequate  provision  for  imparting  Industrial  and 
Technical  Education  in  the  different  Provinces,  having  regard  to 
local  requirements  ;  and 

(d)  to  give  effective  voice  to  the  loaders  of  Indian  public 
opinion  in  shaping  the  i)olicy  and  system  of  Education  in 
this  comitry. 

That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  time  has  arrived  for 
people  all  over  the  country  to  take  up  earnestly  the  question  of 
supplementing  existing  institutions  and  the  efforts  of  Government, 
by  organising  for  themselves  an  independent  system  of  Literary, 
Scientihc,  Technical,  and  Industrial  Education,  suited  to  the 
conditions  of  the  different  Provinces  in  the  countr}'. 

Separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive  Functions 

XVII.  Resolved — (a)  That  this  Congress  jjlaces  on  record  its 
sense  of  regret  that  notwithstanding  the  hopes  held  out  by 
Government  that  the  Executive  and  Judicial  functions  were  soon 
to  be  separated,  no  effective  steps  have  been  taken  in  that  direc- 
tion, and  this  Congress,  concurring  with  previous  Congi-esses, 
urges  a  complete   separation  of  the  two  functions  without  delay. 

(b)  That  this  Congress,  concuri'ing  with  previous  Congresses, 
urges  that  the  Judicial  Service  in  all  Y)arts  of  tlic  country  should  be 
recruited  mainly  from  the  legal  iJrofession. 

Permanent  Settlement 

XIX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  concurring  with  previous 
Congresses,  urges : 

(«)  A  reasonable  and  dehnite  limitation  to  the  State  demand 
on  land,  and  the  introduction  of  a  Permanent  Settlement,  or  a 
Settlement  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  sixty  years  in  those 
Provinces  where  short  periodical  Settlement  revisions  prevail,  as,  in 
the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  that  is  the  only  means  of  ameliorating 
the  present  unsatisfactory  economic  condition  of  the  agricultural 
population ;  and 


508  How    INDIA    WROtJGliT    POU    FREEDOM 

(h)  A  reduction  of  the  annually  growing  military  expenditure 
■which  now  absorbs  nearly  one-third  of  the  Empire's  revenue,  leav- 
ing an  inadequate  portion  only  of  the  balance  available  for  the 
many  objects  of  popular  utility,  specially  Education  and  Sanitation, 
which  are  yet  greatly  starved. 

N,  W.  F.  ProYince 

XX.  Resolved — That  in  view  of  the  prevalence  of  serious 
dissatisfaction  among  the  people  of  the  N.  W.  Frontier  Provn'nce 
with  the  character  of  the  administration  under  which  they  live, 
this  Congress  earnestly  urges  the  Government  of  India  to  order 
a  public  enquiry  into  their  complaints,  and  take  steps  to  remedy 
the  disadvantages  under  which  thc}^  labour  as  compared  with  the 
population  of  the  Panj.il). 

Formal 

XXII.  Resolved— That  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  and  Mr.  Daji  Abaji 
Khare  be  appointed  General  Secretaries  for  the  ensuing  year. 

XXIV.  Resolved — That  the  next  meeting  of  the  Indian 
National  Congress  be  held  at  Allahabad  after  Christmas,  1910. 


CHAPTER  XXV 


The  Twenty-fifth  National  Congress  met  at  Allahabad 

on    the    26th,   27th,   28th,   and  29th  December,  1910. 

The    Congress    Pavilion    was    pitched    on    a    plot    of 

ground     opposite     the    Fort,     and     it    was    quaintly 

designed     with      twenty-five    sides    and     twenty-five 

doors,    with    a    picture  of  a  President  over  each  door. 

636     delegates     attended,    and    some    4,000    visitors 

gathered    to    take     part    in     the    proceedings.     The 

delegates  were  distributed  as  follows 

Madras 

Bombay  (SO),  Sindh  (58) 

Bengal 

U.  P.    ... 


Panjab 
C.  P.  .. 
Berar  .. 
Behar . . 


121 

138 
85 

202 

27 

16 

8 

39 

636 


It  will  be  noticed  that  the  Central  Provinces 
and  Berar  are  here  definitely  separated,  and  we 
miss  Burma  from  the  roll. 

Sir  William  Wedderburn  had  been  elected  as 
President,  and  he  came  over  from  England  in  the 
hope  of  surmounting  the  difficulties  that  were  dividing 


510  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

the  National  Party,  on  one  side  from  the  Surat  trouble, 
on   the   other   from    the  wedge  driven  in  between  the 
Hindus   and   the    Muhammadans    by    introducing  the 
religious     question     into    electioneering.       The    Hon. 
Pandit     Sunderlal,     as    Chairman    of    the    Reception 
Committee,  welcomed  the  l^resident  and  the  delegates, 
and  was  able  to    say  that  both  the  Civil  and   Military 
authorities   had   heljDed  the  Committee  in  making  the 
necessary    arrangements.     After  reference  to  several 
losses  of  the  old  pillars  of  the  Congress,  he  welcomed 
Sir  William  Wedderburn,  whose  ceaseless  labours  for 
India's  welfare  had  made  him  beloved  by  every  Indian. 
Then  followed  a  touching  reference  to  the  passing  away 
of  H.  I.  M.   Edward  VII  and  loyal  homage  to  his  suc- 
cessor,   with    a    word    of    gladness   for  the   promised 
visit    of    the    new    King-Emperor    and    his    Consort. 
The   changes   in   the    A^iceroyalty  and  the  Secretary- 
ship   of    State    were    noted,   and   the  attention  of  the 
new    A'^iceroy,    Lord    Hardinge,    was    called   in  a  few 
brief     sentences     to     the    claims    of    Education,    the 
Separation   of   Judicial    and  Executive  functions,  and 
the     need     for    the    establishment    of    an    Executive 
Council    in    the    U.  P.    Sir  William  W^edderburn  was 
going      to      hold     a     Conference     of     Hindus     and 
Muhammadans ;    it    was    noteworthy    that  in  District 
and   Municipal   Boards  in  the  U.  P  where  there  were 
no    separate     electorates,    out     of    663    members    of 
District    Boards,  the  common  electorate  had  returned 
445    Hindus    and    189    Muhammadans,    and    in    965 
Municipalities    562    were    Hindus    and   310   Muham- 
madans,    showing    that    in    a    l^'ovince    where    only 


THE    TWEXTT-FIFTH    CONGRESS  511 

one-seventh  of  the  population  were  Muslims,  Hindus 
had  voted  for  them  in  large  numbers.  Sir  John 
Hewett  had  said  that  it  would  be  a  great  pitv  to 
disturb  their  amicable  relations  by  introducing 
religious  differences  into  elections. 

Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  moved  that  Sir  William 
Wedderburn  take  the  Chair  in  a  speech  of  warm  and 
grateful  praise  for  his  long  and  devoted  services  to 
India.  The  motion  was  seconded  bv  Mr.  D.  E.  "Wacha, 
supported  by  the  Hon.  Rao  Bahadur  R.  X.  Mudholkar, 
the  Hon.  Mr.  X.  Subba  Rao,  the  Hon.  Lala  Harkishan 
Lai,  Mr.  Yusuf  Hasan,  and  the  Hon.  Pandit  Madan 
Mohan  Malaviya,  and  he  was  installed  amid  enthu- 
siastic cheers. 

The  President  began  by  asserting  his  faith  in  the 
future  destiny  of  India.  "  India  deserves  to  be 
happy."  They  had  reason  for  hope  in  the  reforms 
lately  introduced,  and  these  should  result  in  a  spirit 
of  conciliation  and  co-operation.  The  chief  differences 
were  :  ( 1 )  between  European  officials  and  educated 
Indians;  (2)  between  Hindus  and  Muhammadans;  and 
(3)  between  Moderates  and  Extremists.  He  then 
dealt  with  these  seriatim,  making  far  too  little  of  the 
"  indiscriminate  house-searchings,  prosecutions  and 
other  processes  in  pursuit  of  offences  "  ;  then  urging 
harmony  under  (2)  and  (3). 

The  President  next  classified  Congress  work  as  :  (1) 
constructive  work  in  India,  educating  and  organising 
public  opinion  ;  (2)  representations  to  Government ; 
and  (3)  propaganda  in  England.  The  latter  he  urged 
very    strongly.     The    newborn  spirit  of  self-reliance 


512  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

was  good,  but  it  should  not  degenerate  into  dislike 
of  people  from  other  lands.  The  "  United  States 
of  India,"  under  the  wgis  of  the  British  Empire, 
need  not  be  very  long  in  coming,  if  the  leaders 
of  India  worked  hand  in  hand  with  the  British 
people. 

Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  read  telegrams  from  Mr.  Dada- 
bhai  Naoroji,  Dr.  Rash  Behari  Ghose  and  others,  and 
Mr.  D.  A.  Khare  asked  the  delegates  to  elect  their 
representatives  on  the  Subjects  Committee,  '^l^he 
Congress  rose  for  the  day. 

The  second  day  opened  with  the  I^resident  putting 
the  first  three  resolutions  from  the  Chair.  Resolution  I 
was  an  expression  of  profound  grief  for  the  death 
of  King  Edward  VII,  which  Avas  passed  standing 
and  in  silence.  Resolution  II  offered  the  homage  of 
the  Congress  to  King  George  Y,  and  welcomed  the 
proposed  visit  of  the  King  and  Queen,  and  passed 
by  acclamation.  Resolution  III  welcomed  the  new 
Viceroy,  Lord  Hardinge,  and  appointed  a  Com- 
mittee to  draw  up  an  Address  to  him  from  the 
Congress,  and  named  the  deputation  to  wait  upon 
him  to  present  it.  Sir  William  Wedderburn  noted 
that  it  was  for  the  first  time  that  the  Consrress 
was  to  "  be  received  in  friendly  personal  recognition 
by  a  A^iceroy  " — the  first,  we  may  add,  of  many 
acts  whereby  Lord  Hardinge  showed  his  sympathy 
with  Indian  feeling.  The  Resolution  was  unanimously 
carried. 

Resolution  IV,  on  the  appointment  of  the  Law  Mem- 
ber to  the  Viceroy's  Ex(>cutive  Council  being  limited  to 


THE    TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS  513 

members  of  the  English  Bar,  and  urging  that  Advo- 
cates and  Vakils  should  also  be  eligible,  was  moved 
by  the  Hon,  Mr.  S.  Sinha,  who  pointed  out  that  it 
was  unwise  to  restrict  the  field  of  choice,  and  noted 
that  Dr.  Rash  Behari  Gliose  was  a  Vakil,  and  was 
certainly  not  below  a  Barrister  in  qualifications.  Rao 
Bahadur  B.  N.  Sarma  seconded,  remarking  on  the 
eminent  Vakils  who  had  adorned  the  profession  in 
Madras.     The  Resolution  was  carried. 

Mr.  G.  A.  Natesan  was  once  more  called  to  move 
the  Resolution  on  Indians  in  the  Colonies  (No.  V),  and 
said  that  the  sufferings  of  Indians  in  South  Africa  were 
indeed  well  known  to  them  all.  He  urged  the  duty 
of  the  British  Government  to  protect  its  subjects, 
and  praised  the  heroism  of  the  passive  resisters. 
Mr.  Manilal  Doctor  seconded,  and  spoke  of  the 
oppression  suffered  by  Indians  in  Mauritius.  The 
Resolution  was  supported  by  Mr.  Raghunandan 
Prasad  and  Mr.  Debi  Prasad,  and  carried. 

Resolution  VI,  supporting  the  Swadeshi  Movement, 
was  moved  by  Mr.  C.  Y.  Chintamani,  who  urged  the 
duty  of  educated  people  to  help  indigenous  industries 
by  using  their  products.  The  imports  of  foreign 
goods  increased,  and  even  shawls  Avere  being  brought 
in  from  abroad ;  purchase  of  Home  goods  should  be 
made  easy  by  setting  up  Swadeshi  stores,  for,  as 
Mr.  Ranade  had  said,  India  had  "  come  to  be  regard- 
ed as  a  plantation  of  England,  growing  raw  produce 
to  be  shipped  by  British  agents  in  British  ships,  to  be 
worked  into  fabrics  by  British  skill  and  capital,  and 
to  be   re-exported   to    India   by  British  merchants  to 

40 


514  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

tlieii"  corresponding  British  firms  in  India  through 
their  British  agents  ". 

Mr.  Jitendralal  Bannerji  seconded,  and  urged  that 
at  every  sacrifice  Home  goods  should  be  used.  The 
Resolution  was  supported  by  Messrs.  Dwarkanath, 
D.  V.  Krishna  Rao,  Sacliindra  Prasad  Basu,  and 
Lokamal  Chellaram,  and  carried. 

Mr.  Jogendranath  Mukerji  moved  Resolution  VII, 
urging  the  Separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive  func- 
tions, and  adding  the  proposal  that  the  Judicial  Service 
should  be  recruited  mainly  from  the  legal  profession. 
He  recalled  the  recommendation  of  separation  by  the 
Police  Commission  of  1863,  the  Memorial  of  Lord 
Hobhouse  and  others  in  1889  ;  Lord  Curzon  included 
it  in  his  twelve  reforms,  but  did  nothing,  and  Lord 
Morley  in  1908  gave  it  his  sanction.  Still  no  effective 
steps  had  been  taken.  The  Hon.  Mr.  Braj  Kishore 
seconded,  giving  a  story  from  his  own  district  :  a 
Mahant  rang  bells  in  his  temple,  and  this  annoyed 
the  Magistrate  ;  so  he  bade  his  orderly  lodge  a  com- 
plaint, and  the  case  came  up  before  him,  whereupon 
he  convicted  and  fined  the  Mahant,  and  gave  part  of 
the  fines  to  the  orderly. 

Mr.  C.  P.  Ramaswami  Aiyar  said  that  speech  on 
the  subject  ought  to  be  needless  under  British  rule, 
as  the  British  had  always  been  peculiarly  jealous  of 
any  executive  interference  with  the  administration  of 
their  laws.  But  for  the  theory  that  the  Collector  was 
to  be  responsible  for  law  and  order  and  also  ought  to 
dispense  justice,  no  pleading  for  such  reform  would 
have   been    necessary    under    the  British  Crown.     On 


THE    TWENTY-riFTH    CONGRESS  515 

the  second  part,  he  need  only  say  that  in  filling  up 
the  office  of  Judge  it  seemed  to  be  thought  that  no 
training  was  necessary.  No  one  was  allowed  to 
masquerade  as  a  doctor  without  training,  nor  was  an 
engineer  entrusted  with  a  locomotive  without  training, 
but  "  to  administer  justice,  the  one  sine  qua  nun  is 
that  nothing  need  be  known  of  the  principles  of 
law  ",     The  Resolution  was  carried. 

The  second  day's  work  came  to  an  end  with 
Resolution  VIII,  demanding  Executive  Councils  for 
the  U.  P.  and  the  Panjab.  It  was  moved  by  Pandit 
Gokharannath  Misra,  who  briefly  sketched  the  history 
of  the  creation  of  these  Councils  ;  in  Lord  Morley's 
Indian  Councils  Bill,  a  clause  was  provided  to  give 
them  to  the  major  Provinces,  but  Lord  Curzon  and 
Lord  Macdonnell  succeeded  in  mutilating  the  Bill, 
though  passed  in  the  Commons,  when  the  Bill  was 
before  the  Lords,  Strong  protests  were  made,  but, 
as  usual,  no  attention  was  paid  to  them.  Mr.  P.  L. 
Rajpal  seconded  in  a  vigorous  speech,  the  Resolution 
was  carried,  and  the  Congress  adjourned. 

On  the  re-assembling  of  the  Congress  on  the  third 
day,  Dr.  Gour  moved  Resolution  IX  on  Local  Self- 
Government.  When  Lord  Ripon  in  1882  planned  the 
Local  Self-Government  scheme,  all  thought  the  people 
were  to  be  entrusted  with  effective  pcwer  in  adminis- 
tering local  affairs,  but  when  he  left,  there  was  re- 
action ;  official  Chairmen,  Collectors  and  Tahsildars 
were  appointed  to  District  and  Taluq  Boards,  and  took 
over  all  power.  Things  went  from  bad  to  worse  till 
the  Decentralisation  Commission  was  appointed.     The 


516  HOW    INDIA    WRODGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Congress  asked  that  all  Local  Bodies,  from  Village 
Panchayats  upwards,  should  be  made  elective,  and 
all  chairmen  and  secretaries  should  be  elected. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  G.  Raghava  Rao  seconded,  and 
laid  special  stress  on  the  election  of  non-official 
chairmen.  Mr.  M.  Ramchandra  Rao  dealt  specially 
with  the  financial  aspect,  and  after  a  Hindi  speech 
from  Munshi  Sankata  Prasa,d,  the  Resolution  was 
carried. 

Mr.  Ambikacharan  Mozumdar  moved  Resolution  X, 
protesting  against  the  Partition  of  Bengal.  It  was 
no  "dead  issue,"  as  it  had  been  called,  and  smart 
expressions  did  not  stamp  out  vital  grievances. 
There  was  no  "  settled  fact  '^  in  politics,  and  it  was 
useless  to  charge  them  with  sedition.  "  When  there 
is  a  rupture  between  a  settled  Government  and  its 
people,  the  presumption  is  generally  against  the 
former."  A  great  man  had  said  that  "  a  Nation  is 
not  governed  when  it  has  perpetually  to  be  con- 
quered," and  the  Bengalis  were  not  well  governed,  if 
thev  had  to  be  continually  repressed.  God  grant 
that  Lord  Hardinge  might  open  a  new  era.  [The 
prayer  was  granted.]  Dewan  Bahadur  C.  Karunakara 
Menon  seconded,  and  Mr.  Nibaran  Chandra  Das 
Gupta  supported.  He  said  that  the  wail  of  Bengal 
was  no  longer  heard  because  the  people  were  muzzled 
by  repressive  measures ;  remove  the  muzzle,  and  the 
cry  would  again  be  heard.  The  Resolution  was 
.carried. 

JResolution  XI  embodied  the  old  grievances  of 
Tniians  in    the    Medical    Service ;   it  was    moved    by 


I 


THE    TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGKESS  517 

Sir    Bhalchandra    Krishna,    seconded    by  Dr.  Ranjit 
Singh,  supported  by  Dr.  H.  D.  Pant,  and  carried. 

Mr.  J.  Choudhuri  moved  Resolution  XII,  praying 
that  the  Seditious  Meetings  Act  should  not  be  re- 
enacted  on  its  expiry,  and  that  the  Press  Act  should 
be  at  once  removed.  "  Public  meetings  and  public 
speeches  are  becoming  a  thing  of  the  past.  Thus, 
it  is  a  measure  of  first-rate  coercion  for  suppressing 
the  expression  of  public  opinion." 

It  is  a  shame  and  a  scandal  that  the  British  Govern- 
ment should  not  only  curtail  the  liberty  of  the  press, 
but  frame  a  law  which  will  interfere  with  the  setting  up 
of  new  printing-  presses,  and  thus  indirectly  check  the 
spread  of  knowledge  in  this  benighted  country.  .  .  The 
law  of  sedition  in  this  country  is  elastic  enough.  If  the 
law  would  go  any  greater  length,  then  all  our  liberties^ — 
individual,  personal  and  communal — will  be  at  an  end- 
Mr.  A.  S.  Krishna  Rao  seconded,  and  pointed 
out  the  unfairness  of  presuming  guilt  against  a 
publisher  by  demanding  security  before  he  had 
committed  any  fault.  Mr.  Dwarkanath,  supporting, 
said  that  these  measures  had  paralysed  the  pubHc 
life  of  India.  People  were  afraid  of  joining  any 
public  movement.  The  C.  I.  D.  "  is  a  real  terror  to 
the  people,"  for  "  our  public  men  are  always  at  the 
mercy  of  the  members  of  the  C.  I.  D. "  Mr.  Yusuf 
Hasan  also  supported,  and  the  Resolution  was 
carried. 

The  Resolution  (XIII)  on  Elementary  Education 
was  moved  by  Mr.  V.  V.  Jogiah  Pantulu,  seconded 
by  Mr.  (lanpati  Krishna  Chitale,  supported  by 
Pandit  Hirdaynath  Kunzru,  and  carried. 


518  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Resolution  XIV,  asking  for  a  Commission  of 
Enquiry  into  Expenditure,  was  moved  by  Mr.  N.  M. 
Samartli,  seconded  by  Mr.  N.  A.  Dravid,  and  carried. 

Resolution  XV  dealt  with  the  Council  Regulations, 
and  the  mover,  Dr.  Satish  Chandra  Bannerji,  spoke  of 
the  bitter  disappointment  caused  by  tlie  Regulations 
which  had  wrecked  the  Reform  scheme.  Dr.  Te] 
Bahadur  Sapru  seconded,  asking  that  the  Regulations 
might  at  least  deal  equally  with  all  communities. 
Rai  Bahadur  M.  Adinarayana  lyah  and  the  Hon. 
Mr.  Harchandrai  Vishandas  supported,  and  Nawab 
Sadiq  Ali  Khan  made  a  strong  appeal  to  his  fellow- 
Muslims  to  be  united  and  patriotic,  "  and,  for  the  sake 
of  certain  paltry  gains  in  the  Services  or  in  the  Coun- 
cils, do  not  sacrifice  the  larger  hopes  of  an  ampler  day". 
Shaik  Faiz  and  Mr.  Yusuf  Hasan  supported,  but  on 
the  latter  saying  that  it  was  not  honest  of  the  Muslim 
League  to  demand  an  unfair  amount  of  representation, 
he  was  checked  by  the  President,  and  Mr.  Surendra- 
nath  Bannerji,  supported  by  loud  cheers,  dissociated 
the  Congress  and  himself  from  the  remarks  made. 
The  Resolution  was  carried. 

A  srentleman  wishino-  to  move  an  amendment  was 
ruled  out  of  order,  not  having  sent  it  in. 

Resolution  XVI,  deprecating  the  extension  of 
communal  representation  to  Local  Bodies  was  moved 
by  the  Hon.  Mr.  M.  A.  Jinnah,  who  merely  said  it 
embodied  his  vieAvs.  The  Hon.  Mr.  Muzharal  Haq 
seconded,  urging  Hindus  and  Muslims  to  join 
hands.  Mr.  Syed  Hasan  Imam  supported  and  it  was 
carried. 


THE    TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS  519 

Mr.  Gr.  K.  Devadhar  moved  Resolution  XVII, 
urging  the  formation  of  Conciliation  Boards  wherever 
disturbances  over  religious  celebrations  were  feared. 
Mr.  Ramkumar  Goenka  seconded,  and  the  Resolution 
was  carried. 

Three  Resolutions  were  then  put  from  the  Chair  and 
carried  :  XVIll,  on  reforms  in  the  C.  P.  and  Berar  ; 
XIX,  on  reforms  in  the  Panjab  ;  XX,  on  the  desir- 
ability of  reducing  cable  rates  between  England  and 
India.     The  Congress  adjourned. 

On  the  fourth  day,  Resolution  XXI,  on  Higher  and 
Secondary,  Industrial  and  Technical  Education,  was 
moved  by  Mr.  A.  B.  Patro,  seconded  by  Mr.  Pulin 
Chandra  Das,  supported  by  Messrs.  Devi  Prasad 
Sukla,  V.  R.  Dixit,  and  Ramakant  Malaviya,  and 
carried.  Then  the  President  put  from  the  Chair 
Resolution  XXII,  Simultaneous  Examinations  ;  XXIII, 
the  Omnibus  ;  XXIV,  asking  Lord  Hardinge  to  show 
clemency  to  purely  political  prisoners  ;  XXV,  refer- 
ring some  amendments  in  the  Congress  Constitution 
to  a  Sub-Committee,  to  report  to  the  next  Congress  . 
and  XXVI,  the  All-India  Congress  Committee. 

Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  then  moved  the  thanks 
of  the  Congress  to  Sir  William  Wedderburn,  Mr.  A.  0. 
Hume,  Sir  Henry  Cotton  and  the  members  of  the 
British  Committee  (Resolution  XXVII),  and  asked 
for  Rs.  39,000,  and  got  Rs.  40,000  there  and  then, 
also  carrying  the  Resolution.  The  President  put 
from  the  Chair  a  message  of  sympathy  to  the  Indians 
in  the  Transvaal,  one  of  affection  to  Mr.  Hume  and 
the     G.   0.   M.     Resolution    XXVIII,    re-election    of 


520  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

General  Secretaries  and  Resolution  XXIX,  fixing  the 
next  meeting  of  the  Congress  in  Calcutta,  on  the 
invitation  of  Mr.  Bhupendranath  Basu  were  carried. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale  moved  Resolution 
XXX,  conveying  the  thanks  of  the  Congress  to  the 
President  in  a  very  eloquent  and  l^eautiful  speech  ; 
Pandit  Motilal  Nehru  seconded,  and  it  was  carried  by 
acclamation.  The  Hon.  Pandit  Sunderlal,  C.  I.  E., 
garlanded  the  President,  who  received  a  tremendous 
ovation  in  his  closing  speech. 

The  Twenty-fifth  National  Congress  then  dissolved. 

RESOLUTIONS 

"The  King  is  Dead" 

I.  Eesolved — That  this  Coiiiyress  desires  to  give  expression 
to  its  profound  grief  at  the  sudden  and  untimely  demise  of  His 
Most  Gracious  Majesty  King  Edward  VII,  whose  beneticent 
reign  will  ever  be  memorable  in  the  annals  of  India  for  the  steps 
taken  to  obliterate  race  distinctions  in  making  appointments  to 
high  office,  and  for  the  measures  of  constitutional  reform  adopted 
with  a  view  to  associate  the  people  of  this  country  with  the 
administration  of  their  affairs. 

"  Long  Live  the  King  " 

II.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  offers  its  humble  homage 
and  duty  to  the  King-Emperor  George  V  on  his  accession  and  begs 
to  tender  to  His  Majesty  an  assurance  of  its  profound  loyalty 
and  attachment  to  his  august  throne  and  person.  The  Congress 
expresses  its  deep  and  heartfelt  joy  at  the  announcement  of  the 
proposed  visit  of  their  Most  Gracious  Majesties,  King  George  and 
Queen  Mary,  to  India,  in  1911. 

Delegation  to  Lord  Hardinge 

III.  Resolved — That  (a)  this  Congress  in  offering  its  warm  and 
respectful  welcome  to  His  Excellency  Lord  Hardinge,  Viceroy 
and  Governor-General  of  India,  begs  to  convey  to  His  Excellency 
an  earnest  assurance  of  its  desire  to  co-operate  loyally  with  the 
Government  in  ])i-f)moting  the  welfare  of  the  people  of  the  country  ; 


THE    TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS  521 

(b)  this  Congress  resolves  that  a  snb-Committee  consisting 
of  the  following  gentlemen  be  appointed  to  prepare  an  address  to 
be  presented  to  His  Excellency  in  the  name  of  the  Congress  by 
a  deputation  headed  by  the  President : 

The  President.  Pandit  Bishan  Xarayan  Dhar 
The  Ex-Presidents  present.  (United   Provinces). 

The  General  Secretaries.  Nawab  Sadiq  AH  Khan 
Hon.  Mr.  Rhupendranath  Basu  (United  Provinces). 

(United  Bengal).  Mr.  Syed  Hasan  Imam  (Behar). 

Mr.  Ambikacharan  Mozumdar  Dr   H.  S.  Gour 

(United  Bengal).  (Central  Provinces). 

Hon.  Mr.  N.  Snbba  Eao  Hon.  Rao  Bahadur 

(Madras).  R.  N.  Mudholkar  (Berar). 

Hon.  Mr.  T.  V.  Seshagiri  Iyer  Hon.  Mr.  Harkishan  Lai 

(Madras).  '  (Panjab). 

Hon.  Mr.  M.  H.  Jinnah  Pandit    Rambhiij    Dutt  Choud- 

(Bombay).  huri  (Panjab). 

Mr.  N.  M.  Samarth  (Bombay). 

Legal 

IV.  Resolved — That  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Section  III  of 
the  Indian  Councils  Act  of  1861  is  understood  in  practice  to  limit 
appointment  to  the  Office  of  Law  Member  of  the  Viceroy's 
Executive  Council  to  members  of  the  English  Bar,  thereby  greatly 
restricting  the  field  from  which  a  selection  may  be  made,  this 
Congress  urges  that  the  said  section  be  so  amended  as  to  allow  of 
Advocates,  Vakils,  and  Attorneys-at-Law  of  Indian  High  Courts 
being  appointed  to  that  office. 

VII.  Resolved — That  (a)  this  Congress  places  on  record  its 
sense  of  regret  that  notwithstanding  the  hopes  held  out  by  the 
Government  that  the  Executive  and  Judicial  functions  were  soon  to 
be  seiDarated,  no  effective  steps  have  been  taken  in  that  direction, 
and,  concurring  with  previous  Congresses,  ixrges  a  complete  separa- 
tion of  the  two  functions  without  delay  ; 

(6)  this  Congress,  concurring  with  previous  Congresses, 
urges  that  the  Judicial  Service  in  all  parts  of  the  country  should  be 
recruited  mainly  from  the  legal  profession. 

Indians  in  the  Colonies 

V.  Resolved — That  («)  this  Congress  expresses  its  great 
admiration  of  the  intense  patriotism,  courage,  and  self-sacrifice  of 
the  Indians  in  the  Transvaal— Muhammadan  and  Hindu,  Zoro- 
astrian  and  Christian,  who,  heroically  suffering  persecution  in  the 
interests  of  their  countrymen,  are  carrying  on  their  peaceful  and 
selfless  strugggle  for  elementary  civil  rights  against  heavy  and 
overwhelming    odds,    and    urges  the  Imperial  Government  to  adopt 


522  HOW    INDIA    WKOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

a    firm    and    decisive    attitude   on    the    question,  so  as   to   remove  a 
great  source  of  discontent  amongst  the  people  of  India  ; 

(b)  this  Congress  begs  earnestly  to  press  upon  the 
Government  of  India  the  necessity  of  prohibiting  the  recruitment  of 
indentured  Indian  labour  for  any  portion  of  the  South  Africa  Union, 
and  of  dealing  with  the  authorities  there  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  latter  deal  with  Indian  interests,  so  long  as  they  adhere  to  the 
selfish  and  one-sided  policy,  which  they  proclaim  and  practise,  and 
persist  in  their  present  course  of  denying  to  His  Majesty's  Indian 
subjects  their  just  rights  as  citizens  of  the  Empire  ; 

(c)  this  Congress  protests  against  the  declarations  of  re- 
sponsible statesmen  in  favour  of  allowing  the  Self- Governing 
Colonies  in  the  British  Empire  to  monopolise  vast  undeveloped 
territories  for  exclusive  white  settlement,  and  deems  it  its  duty  to 
point  out  that  the  policy  of  shutting  the  door  in  these  tei-ritories 
against,  and  denying  the  rights  of  full  British  citizenship  to,  all 
Asiatic  subjects  of  tlie  British  Crown,  while  preaching  and 
enforcing  the  opposite  policy  of  the  open  door  in  Asia,  is  fraught 
with  grave  mischief  to  the  Empire  and  is  as  unwise  as  it  is 
unrighteous. 

Swadeshjl 

VI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  accords  its  most  cordial 
support  to  the  Swadeshi  Movement,  and  calls  upon  the  people  of  the 
country  to  labour  for  its  success  by  making  earnest  and  sustained 
efforts  to  promote  the  growth  of  industries  capable  of  development 
in  this  country,  and  to  respond  to  the  efforts  of  Indian  producers  b}' 
giving  preference,  wherever  practicable,  to  Indian  products  over 
imported  commodities,  even  at  a  sacrifice. 

Executive  Councils 

VIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  earnestly  recommends 
that  speedy  action  be  taken  under  the  Indian  Councils  Act  to 
establish  Executive  Councils  in  the  United  Provinces  of  Agra  and 
Oudh  and  in  the  Panjab. 

Local  Self-Government 

IX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  expresses  its  satisfaction  that 
the  Secretary  of  State  has  recognised  that  the  Local  Self-Goveni- 
ment  scheme  of  1882  has  not  had  a  fair  trial,  and  has  pressed  on 
the  Government  of  India  the  necessity  of  an  effectual  advance  in  the 
direction  of  making  Local,  Urban,  and  Rural  bodies  really  Self- 
Governing,  and  it  expresses  the  earnest  hope  that  the  Government 
will  be  pleased  to  take  early  steps  to  make  all  Local  Bodies  from 
Village  Pauchayats  upwards,  elective,  with  elected  non-oflficial 
Chairmen,  and  to  sup]iort  them  with  adequate  financial  aid. 


THE    TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS  523 

The  Partition  of  Bengal 

X.  Resolved — That  (a)  this  Congress  earnestly  appeals  to  the 
Government  of  India  and  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India  not  to 
treat  the  question  of  the  Partition  of  Bengal  as  incapable  of 
reconsideration,  but  to  take  the  earliest  opportunit}'  so  to  modify  the 
said  Partition,  as  to  keep  the  entire  Bengali-speaking  community 
under  one  and  the  same  administration  ; 

(b)  this  Congress  humbly  submits  that  the  rectification  of 
this  admitted  error  will  be  an  act  of  far-sighted  statesmanship. 
It  will  restore  contentment  to  the  Province  of  Bengal,  give  satisfac- 
tion to  other  Provinces,  and  enhance  the  prestige  of  His  Majesty's 
Government  throughout  the  country. 

Public  Service 

Medical 

XI.  Resolved — That  (a)  this  Congress  thanks  the  Secretary  of 
State  for  his  Despatch  regarding  the  employment  in  the  superior 
posts  of  the  Civil  Medical  Service,  and  earnestly  requests  the 
Government  of  India  to  take  early  action  in  the  direction  pointed 
out  by  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India  ; 

(b)  in  the  interests  of  the  public,  the  medical  service,  and 
the  profession,  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of  economy  in  expenditure, 
this  Congress,  concui-ring  with  previous  Congresses,  urges  the 
constitution  of  a  distinct  Indian  Civil  Medical  Service  wholly 
independent  of  the  Indian  (Military)  Medical  Service. 

Simultn iieoiig    Examinations 

XXII.  Resolved— That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
Examination  held  in  England  for  the  Indian  Civil  Service  shoiild  be 
siniultaneoush-  held  in  England  and  in  India,  and  that  all  higher 
appointments  whicli  are  made  in  India  should  be  made  by 
Competitive  Examinations  only. 

Confirmation  of  Previous  Resolutions 

(1)    FoJire 

XXIII.  Resolved— That  (a)  Competitive  Examinations  for  the 
reciiiitment  of  the  Police  Service  in  the  higher  grades  should  be 
thrown  open  to  all  classes  of  British  subjects,  instead  of  being 
confined  to  candidates  of  British  birth,  and  such  examinations 
should  be  held  simultaneously  in  England  and  in   India. 

c 

(b)  educated  Indians  should  be  largely  employed  in  the 
higher  grades  in  order  to  secure  efficiency  in  work  ; 

(c)  enlistment  in  the  Provincial  Service  should  be  by  Com- 
petitive Examination ;  and  lastly, 


524  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

(d)  the  District  Officers  who  are  the  heads  of  the  Police 
shoiild  be  relieved  of  Judicial  work  and  all  control  over  the 
Magistrates  of  the  Districts. 

(2)  Termanent    Settlement 

That  a  reasonable  and  deiinite  limitation  to  the  State  demand  on 
land  and  the  introduction  of  a  Permanent  Settlement  or  a  Settlement 
for  a  period  of  not  loss  than  sixty  years  in  those  Provinces  where 
short  periodical  Settlements  or  Revisions  prevail,  are,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  Congress,  the  only  means  of  ameliorating  the  present 
unsatisfactory  conditions  of  the  agricultural  population. 

(3)  Military  Expenditure 

That  in  the  opinion  of  tliis  Coiigress,  a  reduction  is  urgently 
needed  of  the  annually  growing  Military  Expenditure  which  now 
absorbs  nearly  one-third  of  the  Empire's  revenue,  leaving  only  an 
inadequate  jjortion  of  the  balance  available  for  many  objects  of 
public  utilit}^,  especially  Education  and  Sanitation,  which  are  yet 
greatly  starved. 

Coercion 

Press 

XII.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  state  of  the 
country  since  the  passing  of  the  Seditious  Meetings  Act  and  the 
Indian  Press  Act,  this  Congress  earnestly  prays  that  the  former  be 
not  re-enacted  at  the  expiry  of  its  term,  and  that  the  latter  be 
removed  from  the  Statute  Book  without  delay. 

Education 

Elementary  Education 

XIII.  Resolved—  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the 
time  has  arrived  when  a  substantial  beginning  should  be  made  in 
the  matter  of  Elementary  Education — free  and  compulsory — 
throughout  the  country. 

XXT  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  ojiinion  that  the 
Government  should  take  early  steps  : 

Secondary  and  Higher 

(a)  to  assign  larger  sums  of  money  to  Secondary  and  Higher 
Education  (especial  encouragement  being  given  where  necessary  to 
educate  all  backward  classes)  ; 

Industrial  and   Technical 

(h)  to  make  adequate  provision  for  imparting  Industrial  and 
Technical  Education  in  the  different  Provinces,  having  regai'd  to 
local  requirements  ;  and 


I 


THE    TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS  525 

Natiorial   Control 

(c)  to  give  effective  voice  to  the  leaders  of  Indian  public 
opinion  in  shaping  the  policy  and  sj^stem  of  Education  in  this 
country. 

Popular-  Duty 

That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  time  has  arrived  for 
people,  all  over  the  country,  to  take  up  earnestly  the  question 
of  supplementing  existing  institutions  and  the  efforts  of  the 
Government,  by  organising  for  themselves  an  independent  sj'stem 
of  Literary,  Scientific,  Technical  and  Industrial  Education,  suited  to 
the  conditions  of  the  different  Provinces  in  the  country. 

Finance 

XIV.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  enormous  grovi'th 
that  has  taken  place  in  the  public  expenditure  of  the  country,  this 
Congress  urges  that  a  mixed  Commission  of  enquiry  composed  of 
officials  and  non-officials,  be  appointed  to  enquire  into  the  causes 
which  have  led  to  this  increase  and  to  suggest  remedies. 

[And  see  XXIII  (3)]. 

Representation 

XV.  Resolved — That  while  recognising  the  necessity  of  provid- 
ing for  a  fair  and  adequate  Representation  in  the  Legislative  Councils 
for  the  Muhammadan  and  other  communities  where  they  are  in  a 
minority,  this  Congress  disapproves  the  Regulations  promulgated 
last  year  to  carry  out  this  object  bj'  means  of  separate 
electorates,  and  in  particular  urges  upon  the  Government  the  justice 
and  expediency  of  modifying  the  Regulations  framed  under  the 
Indian  Councils  Act  of  1909,  before  another  election  comes  on,  so 
as  to  remove  anomalous  distinctions  between  different  sections  of 
His  Majesty's  subjects  in  the  matter  of  the  franchise  and  the  quali- 
fications of  candidates  and  the  arbitrary  disqualifications  and 
restrictions  for  candidates  seeking  election  to  the  Councils.  The 
Congress  also  urges  a  modification  of  the  Regulations,  where 
necessaiy,  relating  to  the  composition  of  non-official  majorities  in 
the  Provincial  Councils,  so  as  to  render  them  effective  for  i:)ractical 
purposes. 

Separate  Electorates 

XVI.  Resolved—  That  this  Congress  strongly  deprecates  the 
expansion  or  application  of  the  principle  of  Separate  Communal 
Electorates  to  Municipalities,  District  Boards,  or  other  Local  Bodies. 

Provincial  Reform   (C.  P.  and  Berar) 
XVIII.     Resolved — That    this    Congress    is  of  opinion  that  the 
time    has   come    for  the    establishment   of   a  Provincial  Legislative 


526  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Council  for  the  Central  Provinces  and  Berar,  and  for  according  to 
Berar,  which  is  now  held  by  the  Grovernnient  on  a  permanent 
tenure,  the  status  and  privileges  which  are  accorded  to  Provinces 
included  in  British  India. 

ProrincidI  Refarm   {Fanjah) 

XIX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  records  its  opinion  that 
the  Regulations  framed  for  the  Panjab  under  the  Reform  Scheme 
fail  to  give  satisfaction  for  the  following  reasons,  namely  : 

(ft)  that  the  numerical  strength  of  the  Council  provided 
for  in  the  Regulations  is  not  suiiicient  to  allow  an  adequate 
representation  to  all  classes  and  interests  of  the  jiopulation,  nor  is 
it  commensurate  with  the  progress  made  by  that  Province  in 
matters  Social,  Educational,  Industrial  and  Economical ; 

(b)  that  the  elected  element  prescribed  by  the  Regulations 
for  the  Local  Legislative  Council  is  unduly  small,  and  altogether 
insufficient  to  meet  the  needs  and  requirements  of  that  Province, 
and  compai'es  unfavourably  with  those  accorded  to  other  Provinces  ; 

(c)  that  the  proportion  of  nominated  members  of  the 
Panjab  Legislative  Council  is  inec|uitable  and  out  of  proportion  to 
the  ratio  of  the  different  sections  of  the  population  ;  and 

(d)  that  the  Regulations,  as  framed,  tend  practically  to 
keep  out  non-Muhammadans  from  the  Imperial  Legislative  Council. 

Conciliation   Boards 

XVII.  Resolved — That  in  view  of  the  disturbances  that  have 
occurred  from  time  to  time  in  this  country  on  occasions  of 
religious  celebrations,  this  Congress  urges  the  Government  to  form 
Conciliation  Boards  at  places  where  disturbances  are  apprehended, 
and  to  take  timely  and  adequate  measui-es  for  the  prevention  of 
such  disturbances. 

Reduction  of  Cable  Rates 

XX.  Resolved — That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  it  is 
extremely  desirable  on  more  than  one  ground  that  the  rate  of  cable 
messages  between  England  and  India  should  be  still  further 
reduced,  so  as  to  offer  greater  facilities  to  the  trade  and  to  the 
press,  and,  at  the  same  time,  stimulate  traffic  in  those  messages. 

Political  Prisoners 

XXIV.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  great  improve- 
ment which  has  taken  place  in  the  general  situation  of  the  country, 
as  recognised  by  the  late  Viceroy  and  other  high  authorities,  this 
Congress  respectfull}'  appeals  to  His  Excellency  Lord  Hardinge  to 
signalise  the  commencement  of  a  new  administration  by  an  act  of 
clemency    to    those    who    are    undergoing  imprisonment  for  purely 


THE    TWENTY-FIFTH    CONGRESS  527 

political  offences.  In  the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  such  an  act  of 
clemency  will  have  the  uudoubted  effect  of  facilitating  the  rettfrn 
of  the  country  to  normal  conditions,  Lviid  will  lead  to  a  further 
improvement  in  the  relations  between  the  Cxovernment  and  the 
people. 

Congress  Constitution 

XXV.  Resolved — That  the  Amendments  suggested  by  the 
United  Bengal  Provincial  Congress  Committee  and  such  other 
amendments  as  may  be  suggested  by  other  Committees  be  refei-red 
to  a  Sub-Committee,  consisting  of  the  members  of  the  All-India 
Congress  Committee  and  two  members  elected  by  each  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  Committees,  who  are  members  of  a  Congress 
organisation,  for  consideration  and  report  before  the  end  of  October, 
1911,  the  Sub-Committee  to  meet  at  Allahabad  and  their  report 
to  be  laid  before  the  next  Congress  for  consideration. 

Formal 

XXYI.  Resolved — The  following  gentlemen  are  nominated 
to  form  the  All-India  Congress  Committee  for  1911  (list  omitted), 

XXVIII.  Resolved— That  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  and  Mr.  Daji 
Abaji  Khare  be  appointed  General  Secretaries  for  the  ensuing  year. 

XXIX.  Resolved — That   the  next  Congress  be  held  at  Calcutta. 

Thanks  of   Congress 

XXVII.  Resolved—  That  this  Congress  desires  to  convey  to 
Sir  William  Wedderburn,  Mr.  A.  O.  Hume,  Sir  Henry  Cotton,  and 
other  members  of  the  British  Committee,  its  gi-ateful  thanks 
for  their  disinterested  and  strenuous  services,  and  it  takes  this 
opportunity  to  make  an  earnest  appeal  to  the  Indian  public  to 
place  adequate  funds  at  the  disposal  of  the  Committee  to  enable  it 
to  carry  on  its  work  with  vigour. 

XXX.  Resolved —That  our  most  cordial  thanks  be  accorded  to 
our  President  Sir  William  Wedderburn,  for  the  great  trouble  he 
has  taken  in  coming  out  to  India  to  preside  over  this  assembly, 
and  for  his  devoted  labours  in  guiding  aright  the  deliberations  of 
this  Congress. 

[See  IX,  XI.] 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


The  Twenty-sixth  National  Congress  met  in  Calcutta, 
on  the  26th,  27th  and  28th  of  December,  1911,  met 
in  the  full  joy  of  the  reunited  Bengalis,  whose  long 
suffering  liad  been  crowned  with  triumph,  and  who 
had  heard  the  Partition  of  Bengal  annulled  by  the 
King-Emperor's  own  lips  in  the  great  Coronation 
Durbar  at  Delhi.  446  delegates  had  gathered  in 
Calcutta  on  that  joyous  occasion,  and  they  were 
grouped  as  follows  : 

26 


JJUlllUttJ 

Panjab... 

,                     ...           iiU 

...       3 

U.  P 

...     94 

Madras... 

...  136 

Behar    ... 

...     23 

C.P 

...       7 

Berar    ... 

...       9 

Bengal  ... 

...  148 

446 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Bhupendranath  Ba.su,  the  Chairman 
of  the  Reception  Committee,  welcomed  the  President- 
elect and  the  delegate.s,  and  then,  recalling  the  vow 
of  October  16th,  1905,  that,  come  what  might,  the 
people  of  Bengal  should  not  be  divided,  he  spoke  of 
the   Royal   announcement,   redressing  a  grave  wrong. 


THE    TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS  529 

Tliey  would  welcome  the  King-Emperor  on  his 
coming  among  them,  "  not  only  as  our  King  and 
Emperor,  but  as  our  deliverer  ".  They  welcomed  also 
the  Queen-Empress,  and  also  the  Secretary  of  State 
for  India,  Lord  Crewe,  and  he  paid  a  graceful  tribute 
to  Lord  Hard  in  ge,  "  that  statesman,  lonely  and 
serene,  ....  who  saw  the  wrong  and  did  the  right  ^'. 
He  spoke  with  deep  regret  of  the  removal  of  the 
seat  of  Government  from  Bengal  after  its  connection 
of  150  years  with  British  Power.  He  then  turned 
to  the  necessity  that  the  Congress  should  continue 
its  work,  despite  the  'Legislative  Council  reforms, 
since  the  Congress  had  to  build  the  Nation,  and  to 
be  a  centre,  round  which  all  could  gather.  He 
touched  briefly  on  the  various  differences  between 
Indians,  but  they  had  a  common  consciousness  as 
Indians,  the  sense  of  oneness  of  which  the  Congress 
was  a  symbol.  Their  sense  of  Nationality  Avould  not 
weaken  their  tie  with  England,  but  rather  strengthen  it. 

P  Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji,  in  a  very  brief  speech, 
moved  that  Pandit  Bishan  Narayan  Dhar  should 
take  the  Chair.  The  motion  was  seconded  by  Rao 
Bahadur  R.  N.  Mudholkar,  supported  by  Mr.  Gr.  K. 
Gokhale,  the  Hon.  Nawab  Syed  Muhammad,  and 
Pandit  Rambhuj  Dutt  Choudhuri,  and  warmly  carried. 
The  President  said  that  they  had  hoped  to  have 
had  Mr.  Ramsay  Macdonald  as  tlieir  President,  but 
his  wife's  untimely  death  had  called  him  away,  and 
he  himself  had  been  asked  unexpectedly  to  take  his 
place.  He  then  referred  to  the  death  of  the  Nizam 
of  Hyderabad,  mourned  through  the  whole  country; 
41 


530  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

that  of  Sir  Charles  Dilke,  who  had  always  shown 
himself  a  friend  of  India;  and  the  loss,  especially  to 
Bengal,  of  Norendranath  Sen  and  Mr.  Shishir  Kumar 
Ghosh.  Then  followed  some  grateful  words  to  Lord 
Hardinge,  and  deep  loyalty  to  the  King-Emperor, 
who  had  annulled  the  Partition  of  Bengal.  He 
spoke  approvingly  of  the  transfer  of  the  capital  to 
Delhi,  as  likely  to  vivify  the  Panjab,  glanced  at  the 
creation  of  the  new  Province  of  Behar,  and  hoped  the 
creation  there  of  an  Executive  Council  presaged  the 
granting  of  one  to  the  U.  P.  Turning  to  the  Govern- 
ment here,  he  spoke  gratefully  of  the  benefits  of 
British  rule,  the  peace  and  order,  the  gift  of  educa- 
tion :  "  faulty  as  it  is  in  many  resj^ects,  and  greatly 
as  it  needs  to  be  reformed  and  renovated  from  top 
to  bottom,  it  is  still  the  greatest  gift  of  Providence 
to  my  race  ".     "The  root-cause,"  he  said, 

of  most  of  our  misfortunes,  which,  if  not  corrected, 
forebodes  serious  disasters  in  the  future,  is  the  growth  of 
an  unsympathetic  and  illiberal  spirit  in  the  bureaucracy 
towards  tl)e  new-born  hopes  and  ideals  of  the  Indian 
people.  While  a  new  India  has  gradually  been  rising  up, 
that  spirit  too  has  been  growing,  and  so  the  critical 
situation  has  arisen  :  on  the  one  hand,  the  educated 
classes,  filled  with  new  knowledge  and  conscious  of  new 
political  rights,  but  hampered  by  the  bars  and  fetters  of 
.fi  .system  perhaps  good  enough  for  other  days  but  now 
.obsolete  ;  on  the  other,  the  bureaucracy  with  its  vested 
interests,  its  domineering  habits,  its  old  traditions  of 
obsolete  and  unquestioned  authority,  suspicious  of  know- 
ledo-e  and  averse  to  innovation  like  every  close  corpora- 
tion, cut  off  from  the  people  by  its  racial  exclusiveness, 
;and  wedded  to  a  paternal  system  of  Government  under 
■which  it  has  so  long  enjoyed  power  and  pelf  but  which  is 
discordant  with  the  more  lilieral  ideals  of  the  present  day. 


THE    TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS  531 

He  strengthened  this  contention  by  giving  a  long 
list  of  the  cases  in  which  the  bureaucracy  had  work- 
ed against  Indian  interests.  After  condemning 
the  coercive  policy,  the  President  turned  to  the 
Regulations  which  had  wrecked  the  Reforms,  and 
subjected  theni  to  a  searching  analysis,  and  he 
complained  that  all  attempts  to  unite  Hindus  and 
Muhammadans  were  opposed  by  the  Anglo-Indian 
press. 

When  under  the  advice  of  Sir  Williirim  Weddei'burn 
and  H.  H.  the  Aga  Khan,  the  representatives  of  the  two 
communities  were  about  to  meet  at  Alhihabad  a  year  ago, 
with  the  object  of  reconciling  their  differences,  an  Anglo- 
Indian  paper,  >Yhich  is  believed  to  be  an  organ  of  the  Civil 
Service,  remarked  :  "  Why  do  these  men  want  to  unite 
the  two  communities,  if  it  is  not  to  unite  them  against 
the  Government  ?"  This  one  remark  thj^ows  a  g'hastly 
light  upon  the  political   situation  in  India. 

The  President  declared  against  the  introduction 
of  communal  representation  into  Local  Bodies,  and 
commented  sarcastically  on  the  Burn  circular  in  favour 
of  it ;  the  circular  advocated  sepai'ate  electorates 
for  Muhammadans  while  also  allowing  them  to  vote 
in  mixed  electorates,  as  this  would  be  helpful  in 
maintaining  friendly  relations  between  the  two  com- 
munities. "  I  will  only  say  that  this  solicitude  for 
promoting  our  unity  is  rather  a  heavy  draft  upon 
our  credulity."  The  employment  of  Indians  in  the 
Public  Service,  "  which  has  been  before  the  Govern- 
ment for  nearly  a  century,"  the  proposal  to  found 
Hindu  and  Muslim  Universities  which  he  warmly 
praised,  the  Elementary  Education  Bill  of  Mr.  Gokhale, 


532  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

the  status  of  Indians  in  the  Colonies — all  came  under 
review.  The  l*resident,  in  conclusion,  spoke  ringing 
words  on  the  "ideal  of  Self-Government  within  the 
Empire  ". 

Our  agitation,  in  order  to  be  effective  must  be 
National  not  .sectarian,  persistent  not  spasmodic,  directed 
by  intelligence  and  Avisdom  and  not  impulsive  aud 
reckless.  Enthusiasm,  is  good,  and  idealism  is  good,  and 
even  crying  for  the  moon  is  sometimes  good  ;  and  I  for 
one  sympathise  with  those  who  are  called  visionaries  and 
dreamers,  for  I  know  that  in  every  active  and  reforming 
body  there  is  always  an  extreme  wing  that  is  not  with- 
out its  uses  in  great  human  movements.  I  know  that 
moderation  sometimes  means  indifference,  and  caution 
timidit}^  and  I  hold  that  India  needs  bold  and  enthusiastic 
characters — not  men  of  pale  hopes  and  middling  ex- 
pectations, but  courageous  natures,  fanatics  in  the  cause 
of  their  country. 

The  President  ended  amid  loud  applause,  and  the 
Congress  adjourned  to  the  following  day. 

On  the  assembly  of  the  Congress  on  the  second 
day,  some  letters  and  telegrams  having  been  read, 
the  President  moved  from  the  Chair  the  first  Resolu- 
tion of  loyal  homage  to  the  King-Emperor  and 
Queen-Empress  on  their  visit,  and  it  was  carried  with 
hearty  cheers  and  telegraphed  to  His  Majesty. 

Resolution  11  thanked  His  Majesty  and  also  the 
Government  of  India  and  the  Secretary  of  State  for 
annulling  the  Partition  of  Bengal.  It  was  moved  by 
Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  in  a  grateful  speech,  in 
which  he  dwelt  on  the  wasdom  of  the  action  taken, 
and  rejoiced  that  all  India,  which  had  helped  the 
Bengalis    in    their    struggle,  now  shared  in  the  joy  of 


THE    TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS  533 

their  triumph  ;  he  concluded  with  a  hope  that  India 
would  form  "  part  and  parcel  of  the  Self-Governing 
States  of  a  great,  free  and  federated  Empire,  rejoicing 
in  our  indissoluble  connection  with  England,  and  in 
the  enjoyment  of  the  inestimable  blessing  of  new-born 
freedom  ". 

The  Hon.  Rao  Bahadur  R.  N.  Mudholkar  se- 
conded the  Resolution,  praising  the  courage  of  the 
Secretary  of  State  and  the  Viceroy  in  facing  the 
opposition  in  England,  and  gratefully  recognising  the 
noble  courage  of  the  King,  who  had  risked  personal 
opprobrium  by  announcing  the  reversal. 

The  Resolution  was  supported  by  Mr.  C.  P.  Rama- 
swami  Aiyar,  who  pointed  to  the  importance  of  the 
issue  raised  in  the  question — whether  the  people 
should  be  consulted,  or  the  Government  should  act 
in  an  arbitrary  and  secret  fashion.  A  question 
supposed  to  be  settled  had  been  re-opened  by  constitu- 
tional agitation,  and  they  now  knew  that  when  a 
wrong  had  been  done,  right  agitation  would  redress 
it.  The  Resolution  was  further  supported  by 
Mr.  Muralidhar  Rai  and  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha,  who  voiced 
the  sympathy  of  Bombay,  and  by  Mr.  Ambikacharan 
Mozumdar,  who  in  the  course  of  an  admirable  speech, 
said  : 

Gentlemen,  on  this  day  of  universal  rejoicing  when 
every  heart  in  India  in  general  and  in  Bengal  in  particu- 
lar is  beating  in  unison  with  reverence  and  devotion  to 
the  British  Throne  and  overflowing  with  revived  con- 
fidence and  gratitude  towards  British  statesmanship, 
I  will  not — I  dare  not — recount  the  painful  records  and 
recall   the    bitter  memories   of  the  past  5  years.     Let  the 


584  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

dead  past  bury  its  dead.  Let  suspicion  and  disti'ust, 
malice  and  rancour,  rage  and  repression — those  ev'il 
spirits  that  revel  in  darkness — vanish  from  the  land,  and 
let  cavil  and  calumny  be  hushed  into  silence.  Groping 
our  way  through  the  darkness  of  defeat  and  despair,  we 
have  by  the  grace  of  God  at  last  emerged  into  the 
breaking  sunshine  of  success.  Gentlemen,  some  of  us 
never  faltered — no,  not  even  in  the  darkest  days  of  our 
trials  and  tribulations — in  our  hope,  in  our  conviction  and 
in  our  faith  in  the  ultimate  triumph  and  vindication  of 
British  justice.  In  that  hope  we  have  lived,  in  that  con- 
viction we  have  worked  and  in  that  faith  we  have 
patieiitly  suii'ered  and  waited.  We  had  read  English 
history  in  vain,  if  we  had  failed  to  grasp  the  one  great 
lesson  it  teaches,  that  though  British  statesmanship  has 
blundered  in  many  places  it  has  ultimately  failed  no- 
where. British  conscience,  however  much  darkened  at 
times  by  other  considerations,  has  invariably  vindicated 
itself  by  rebelling  at  the  end  against  proved  tyranny, 
injustice  and  oppression  to  suffering  humanity.  The 
nation  of  Howard  and  Wilberforce,  of  Edmund  Burke 
and  Ewart  Gladstone,  of  Henry  Fawcett  and  John 
Bright,  of  Bentinck,  Canning  and  Ripon,  cannot  per- 
petrate a  wrong,  and  if  it  ever  does,  it  will  that  day  cease 
to  be  the  greatest  nation  that  it  is  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth. 

Messrs.  Muhammad  Ali  Choudliuri  and  Rambbuj 
Dutt  Clioudluu'i  further  supported,  and  the  Resolu- 
tion was  passed.  The  agitation,  carried  on  from  1905 
to  1911  has  taught  two  great  lessons  :  first,  that 
where  India  demands  justice  insistently  and  refuses 
to  be  silenced,  she  must  succeed,  however  apparently 
hopeless  the  task ;  secondly,  that  w'hen  Britain 
reverses  a  policy  of  wrong  and  nobly  does  the  right, 
she  strengthens,  she  does  not  weaken,  the  ties 
between  India  and  herself.  India  is  too  mighty  to 
be    refused     when     slie    speaks    out,    and    when    her 


THE    TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS  535 

children,  as  in  Bengal,  are  ready  to  suffer  ;  England 
is  too  just  to  refuse,  when  she  sees  earnestness  and 
the  will  which  demands  redress.  The  final  outcome 
is  thus  a  mutual  advantage,  drawing  the  two  Nations 
together,  not  rending  them  apart. 

Resolution  III,  thanks  for  the  formation  of  the 
Province  of  Behar  and  the  expression  of  the  wish 
that  the  Bengali-speaking  districts  should  all  be 
under  one  administration,  was  moved  very  briefly  by 
Dr.  Tej  Bahadur  Sapru,  seconded  by  Mr.  Paramesh- 
varlal,  supported  by  Messrs.  Ananda  Charan  R,ai, 
Anath   Bandhu  (luha,  and  A.  Choudhuri,  and  carried. 

Resolution  IV  asked  for  the  removal  from  the 
Statute  Book  of  the  Seditious  Meetings  Act,  Press; 
Act,  and  the  de23ortation  without  trial  Regulations, 
It  was  moved  by  the  Hon.  Rai  Bahadur  Baikuntha- 
nath  Sen  in  a  powerful  speech,  urging  the  necessity 
of  getting  rid  of  repressive  measures.  Mr.  Daji 
Abaji  Khare  sec(jnded,  and  put  the  case  in  a  nutshell  :  ' 

Now  let  us  consider  what  was  the  effect  of  these  Acts. 
That  effect  was  very  well  portrayed  in  one  of  the  speeches 
delivered  in  the  Supreme  Legislative  Council.  These 
Acts,  it  EQiist  be  conceded,  practically  killed  political  life 
in  India.  There  were  many  meetings  held,  but  for  what  ? 
They  gave  instructions  for  collecting  subscriptions,  for 
memorials,  for  congratulations  and  for  similar  things,  but 
there  were  no  meetings  to  protest  against  wrongful  or 
illegal  acts,  there  was  no  agitation  against  measures 
which  were  not  liked  by  the  people.  There  were  no 
speeches  against  any  of  these  things  either  delivered  from 
the  platforms  or  any  letters  published  in  the  public  print, 
because  almost  everyone  was  afraid  that  if  he  came 
within  these  laws  or  transgressed  the  laws  there  was  a 
chance   of   his  being   held  up  not   under  the  ordinary  law 


536  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOE    FREEDOM 

but  under  these  darkenin.o'  laws  which  no  doubt  were 
laws  but  were  the  most  illegal  of  laws.  You  may  pass 
anything  and  call  it  a  law,  but  all  the  same  they  are 
illegal  laws  which  ought  never  to  have  been  on  the 
Statute  Book.  They  should  not  blot  the  Statute  Book 
whicii  is  framed  under  the  segis  of  the  greatest  politicians 
of  England. 

I  therefore  say  that  these  statutes  were  not  required, 
they  are  .not  certainly  required  now  and  the  sooner  they 
are  abolished  the  better  for  everyone  concerned.  Of 
course  we  say  that  you  passed  them  because  you  thought 
that  the  times  were  such  that  the  Government  required 
such  measures,  but  now  with  the  modification  of  the 
Partition  these  times  have  gone  by,  and  we  say  that 
whatever  occasion  there  was,  whatever  case  there  may 
have  been  in  favour  of  these  Acts,  that  is  all  finished  and 
therefore  you  must  take  away  these  statutes. 

As  regards  the  deportation  regulations,  no  doubt 
they  are  the  old  standing  regulations  of  ISlo,  no  doubt  it 
has  been  said  that  almost  every  Government  has  in  its 
•armoury  of  weapons  some  regulations  of  this  kind  for 
removing  dangerous  people  at  a  moment's  notice.  I  can 
quite  conceive  tha^  in  exceptional  times  when  there  is 
danger  of  a  revolution  in  the  country,  such  regulations 
may  properly  be  used,  but  I  do  not  concede  that  there  was 
such  a  danger  ;  and  although  a  weapon  may  be  good,  I  do 
not  concede  that  tlie  arms  which  wielded  these  weapons 
were  arms  that  ought  to  have  been  trusted  with  these 
weapons.  A  knife  may  be  very  good,  but  if  you  entrust 
it  into  improper  hands  it  is  bad.  It  would  be  better  to 
take  away  the  knife  from  such  hands,  or  to  see  that  the 
person  who  holds  it  is  more  reasonable.  So  far  as  these 
regulations  are  concerned,  in  every  case  in  which  there 
lias  been  deportation  the  Government  were>  forced  to 
admit  that  they  took  steps  and  deported  these  people 
entirely  on  no  ground  whatever.  A  common  policeman 
makes  a  report,  that  report  is  forwarded  by  his  superior 
to  a  superior  officer,  and  it  passes  from  one  to  the 
other   until    ultimately    it   is  sent  up  to  the  Government, 


THE    TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS  537 

and  it  is  taken  to  be  gospel  by  the  Government.  In 
tliis  way  the  liberty  of  the  most  respectable  man  and 
the  most  law-abiding-  citizen  will  be  threatened  without 
his  knowledge,  and  without  the  man  having  any  notice  of 
wdiat  is  going-  on.  Regulations  like  that,  which  are 
worked  by  such  machinery,  require  to  be  removed  forth- 
with. Therefore  we  pray  that  these  regulations  be 
abolished  and  that  the  future  history  of  India  should  not 
be   allowed   to  be  darkened  with  such  shameful  measures. 

Rao  Bahadur  G.  Srinivasa  Eao  supported,  and  the 
Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  Y  amended  the  Congress  Constitution  ; 
Mr.  Bhupendranath  Basu  brought  up  the  Report  of  the 
Sub-Committee  appointed  by  the  previous  Congress, 
and  the  Subjects  Committee  having  approved  it, 
it  w^as  submitted  to  the  Congress  and  passed. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  M.  S.  Das  moved  Resolution  VI, 
supporting  the  Swadeshi  Movement ;  it  was  seconded 
by  Mr.  S.  K.  Nair,  supported  by  Messrs.  Sasanka 
Jihan  Rai  and  Dwarkanatli,  and  carried. 

Resolution  VII  urged  the  necessity  of  immediate 
measures  being  taken  to  promote  Sanitation  ;  it  was 
moved  by  Dr.  Sarat  K.  Mullick,  seconded  by 
Dr.  J.  N.  Ghose,  supported  by  Kaviraj  Jatindranath 
Sen,  and  carried. 

Resolution  VIII,  practically  identical  with  Reso- 
lution IX  of  the  previous  Congress,  was  moved  by 
Mr.  A.  P.  Patro,  seconded  by  Mr.  N.  A.  Dravid,  and 
carried. 

Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  moved  Resolution  IX,  bringing 
up  once  more  the  vital  question  of  the  enormous  growth 
in  public    expenditure,     and    dealt    with     it    in     his 


538  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

own  exhaustive  fashion.     The    kernel     of  his   speech 
was  in  the  pregnant  sentence  : 

The  expenditure  has  grown  during  the  last  10  years 
by  1^  per  cent  more  than  the  revenue.  This  is  a  frightful 
state  of  things.  If  you  are  a  business  man,  and  your 
income  is  only  growing  at  the  rate  of  one  per  cent  and 
you  are  spending  three,  the  inevitable  result  will  be  that 
your  house  will  be  in  bankruptcy.  This  is  exactly  the 
state  of  things  in  which    the  Government  finds  itself. 

Mr.  Pramathanath  seconded,  and  the  Resolution 
was  carried. 

Resolution  X,  praying  for  the  abolition  of  the 
countervailing  excise  duties  on  Indian  cotton,  handi- 
capping the  growth  and  expansion  of  the  Indian 
cotton  industiy,  was  proposed  by  Mr.  D.  A.  Khare, 
seconded  by  Lala  Gobardhan  Das,  and  cai*ried. 
The  sitting  closed  with  the  passing  of  Resolution 
XI,  on  the  familiar  question  of  Land  Settlements, 
moved  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  M.  S.  Das,  seconded  by 
Mr.  V.  Venkateswarlu,  and  supported  by  Mr.  Pantulu. 

The  third  day  opened  with  sad  and  startling  news 
— the  sudden  and  unexpected  death  of  the  Hon.  Mr. 
V.  Krishnaswami  Aiyar,  which  deprived  the  National 
party  of  one  of  its  pillars.  A  message  of  condolence 
was  at  once  wired  to  his  familv. 

Resolution  XII,  supporting  the  Hon.  Mr.  Gokhale's 
Elementary  Education  Bill,  then  before  the  Supreme 
Legislative  Council,  was  appropriately  moved  by  the 
Hon.  Dewan  Bahadur  L.  A.  Govindaraghava  Aiyar, 
one  of  the  best  friends  of  education  in  Madras.  He 
said  that  the  opposition  of  the  Local  Government 
rendered    the  support    of  the  Congress  all  the  more 


THE    TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS  oBO 

necessary,  and  this  was  the  chief  reason  for  putting 
forward  this  special  resohition,  in  addition  to  a  more 
general  one.  He  reviewed  the  arguments  put  for- 
Avard  against  the  Bill,  and  shattered  them  one  by 
one.  (Strangest  spectacle  of  all  was  the  objection 
that  compulsion  would  bring  odium  on  the 
Government,  the  Government  which  had  passed 
the  Seditious  xMeetings  Act  and  the  Press  Act ! 
Mr.  R.  P.  Karandikar  seconded  the  Resolution, 
and  pointed  out  that  the  boys  asked  for  educa- 
tion ;  they  were  helpless  and  should  be  helped. 
The  Resolution  was  supported  by  Dr.  Gour, 
Dr.  Satish  Chandra  Bannerji — who  regarded  edu- 
cation as  the  question  of  questions,  for  the 
National  Ideal  could  not  be  reached  without  it — Rao 
Bahadur  V.  R.  Pandit,  Mr.  Jitendralal  Bannerji — 
who  said  that  Mr.  Gokhale  had  exhausted  the  subject, 
and  they  could  only  repeat  his  arguments  and  figures 
— and  the  discussion  was  closed  by  the  Hon. 
Mr.  Gokhale,  who  noted  the  approval  with  which  the 
Bill  had  been  met  on  all  sides.  Without  compulsion 
universal  education  was  impossible.  To  be  success- 
ful it  must  be  introduced  gradually  in  areas  where 
primary  education  was  valued.  The  Central  Govern- 
ment would  not  introduce  it,  so  they  must  move  the 
local  bodies.  If  the  Bill  were  defeated,  they  must 
agitate  with  all  their  might  and  main,  and  they  would 
presently  win,  and  lay  the  foundation  of  a  noble 
Democracy,     llie  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  XIII  urged   a  modification  of  the  Regu- 
lations    under    the    Indian     Councils     Act    of    1909. 


540  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Mr.  A.  Choudhuri  moved  it,  giving  practical  illustra- 
tions of  the  working  of  the  "  non-official  majority  "  ; 
Mr.  V.  Naidu  seconded  it,  Pandit  Rambhuj  Dutt 
Choudhuri  supported  it,  and  it  was  carried. 

Resolution  XIV,  against  separate  electorates  for 
Local  Bodies,  brought  up  again  the  arguments  of  the 
previous  year.  It  was  moved  by  Pandit  Gokarannath 
Misra,  seconded  by  Munshi  Narayan  Prasad,  and 
carried. 

Resolution  XV,  the  Separation  of  Judicial  and 
Executive  functions,  was  put  from  the  Chair  and 
carried.  ' 

The  Subjects'  Committee  brought  up  another  Reso- 
lution (XVI)  on  the  Congress  Constitution,  as  there 
existed  much  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  amend- 
ments thereon,  and  it  was  decided  that  the  All-India 
Congress  Committee  should  consider  and  report  to 
the  next  Congress  what  further  modifications  should 
be  made  in  the  Constitution  and  Rules,  Article  I 
being  kept  intact.     Carried. 

Mr.  Hasan  Imam  invited  the  next  Congress  to 
Bankipur  and  the  invitation  was  accepted.  The 
proposal  (Resolution  XXXIII)  was  interjected  at  this 
point,  as  Mr.  Imam  was  ill  and  was  obliged  to  leave. 

Resolution  XVII  dealt  with  the  old  question  of 
Police  Reform  :  it  was  no  fault  of  the  Congress  if 
Resolutions  were  instances  of  perpetual  motion,  for 
the  Government  was  an  instance  of  perpetual 
immobility.  Tlie  Hon.  Mr.  Karandikar  moved, 
Mr.    Birendranath    Sasmal    seconded,    Messrs.    V.  N. 


THE    TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS  541 

Jakatdan,  Samasamudran  Pillai  and  Bislinupada 
Cbatterji  supported,  and  it  was  carried. 

The  President  moved  Resolution  XVIII  on  Educa- 
tion and  it  was  carried. 

In  Resolution  XIX  the  Congress  recorded  again  its 
"  emphatic  opinion  "  in  favour  of  Simultaneous 
Examinations,  and  Mr.  V.  V.  Jogiah  recalled  the 
Act  of  1883,  and  the  enforcement  in  1853,  and  the 
Queen's  Proclamation,  und  su  welter.  Mr.  Kane 
seconded,  and  the    Resolution  was  carried  once  more. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  S.  Sinha  proposed.  Dr.  Tej  Baha- 
dur Sapru  seconded,  Resolution  XX,  asking  for  an 
Executive  Council  and  a  Governor  for  the  U.  P. 
Carried. 

Resolution  XXI,  Release  of  Political  Prisoners; 
Resolution  XXII,  Executive  Council  for  the  Panjab  ; 
Resolution  XXIII,  Council  and  status  of  British 
Province  for  C.  P.  and  Bei-ar,  were  all  put  from  the 
Chair. 

Messrs.  P.  C.  Bannerji  and  G.  Sarma  moved  and 
seconded  Resolution  XXIY,  the  lioary  request  of 
opening  the  higher  grades  of  the  Army  to  Indians. 
Carried.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  we  want  Home  Rule, 
when  India  has  been  vainly  asking  for  thirty  years 
for  the  removal  of  preposterous  injustices  ? 

Resolution  XXV  was  brand-new,  and  asked  that 
all  Indian  High  Courts  should  have  direct  relations 
with  the  Government  of  India  such  as  had  the  High 
Court  of  Fort  William  (Calcutta)  ;  it  was  moved  by 
Mr.     Pravas   Chandra   Mitra.       Control   exercised  by 


542  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Local  Governments  over  High  Courts,  he  said,  was 
not  desirable,  and  he  gave  details  to  show  that  the 
prestige  and  independence  of  the  High  Courts  would 
be  increased  b}'  the  proposed  change.  Mr.  Atul 
Chandra  Rai  seconded,  and  the  Resolution  was 
carried. 

Having  thus  refreshed  itself  with  novelty,  the 
Congress  returned  to  its  old  friends,  and  the  Presi- 
dent put  from  the  Chair  Resolution  XXYI,  Indians 
in  the  Medical  Service ;  Resolution  XXVII,  Law 
Membership  ;  and  Resolution  XXA^III,  Reduction  of 
Cable  Rates. 

Indians  in  the  Colonies  made  up  Resolution  XXIX, 
moved  by  Mr.  J.  Choudhuri — great  Charter  of  1858 
again — seconded  by  Mr.  C.  Y.  Chintaniani,  supported 
by  Dr.  Manilal  and  Mr.  Sorabji  Sapurji,  one  of  the 
passive  resisters,  who  had  been  to  gaol  eight  times, 
and  was  going  back  immediately  in  case  he  were 
wanted  again.  Mr.  H.  S.  L.  Polak,  the  gallant 
Jewish  gentleman  who,  as  a  member  of  an  oppressed 
race,  felt  for  the  woes  of  other  oppressed  races,  made 
a  fine  speech  full  of  facts.  8,500  sentences  of  hard 
labour  had  been  endured  by  the  jiassive  resisters, 
who  were  treated  so  badly,  Mr.  Gandhi  among  them, 
that  they  were  unrecognisable  when  they  came  out. 
Boys  and  men  were  deported  penniless.  Businesses 
were  ordered  to  be  removed  and  so  ruined.  Men 
were  forced  to  re-indenture,  because  they  had  not 
means  to  pay  the  tax  for  excuse.  And  so  on.  The 
Resolution  was  carried. 


THE    TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS  543 

Then  came  three  more  Resolutions  from  the  Chair  : 
Resolution  XXX,  re-appointing  the  General  Secre- 
taries ;  Resolution  XXXI,  the  thanks  of  Congress  to  Sir 
William  Wedderburn,  Mr.  A.  0.  Hume,  Sir  Henry 
Cotton,  and  the  British  Committee ;  Resolution 
XXXII,  api3ointing  the  All-India  Congress  Com- 
mittee, as  elected  by  the  Provincial  Congress 
Committees. 

Mr.  A.  Choudhuri  then  moved  a  vote  to  the 
President,  carried  with  hearty  cheers.  He  spoke  a 
few  grateful  words  in  reply,  and  the  Twenty-sixth 
National  Congress  dissolved. 

RESOLUTIONS 

Welcome  to  Their  Majesties 

I.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  in  humble  duty  respectfidlv 
tenders  its  most  loj'al  homage  to  the  Throne  and  Person  of  their 
Imperial  Majesties,  the  King-Emperor  and  the  Queen-Empress, 
and  feels  confident  that  their  visit  to  India  will  be  productive  of 
lasting  benefit  to  the  peojjle  of  this  country. 

Thanks  of  Congress 

The  Re-Uihiting  of  Bengal 

II.  Resolved — Tnat  this  Congress  respectfully  begs  leave  to 
tender  to  His  Imperial  Majesty  the  King-Emperor  a  humble 
expression  of  its  profoitnd  gratitude  for  his  gracious  announcement 
modifying  the  Partition  of  Bengal.  The  Congress  also  places  on 
record  its  sense  of  gratitude  to  the  Government  of  India  for  recom- 
mending the  modification  and  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for  sanction- 
ing it.  In  the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  this  administrative  measure 
will  have  a  far-reaching  effect  in  helping  forward  the  policy  of  con- 
ciliation with  which  the  honoured  names  of  Lord  Hardinge  and  Lord 
Crewe  will  ever  be  associated  in  the  public  mind. 

The  Creation  of  the  Province  of  Behar 

III.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  place  on  record 
its  sense  of  profound  gratitude  to  His  Majesty  the  King-Emperor 
for  the  creation  of  a  separate  Pi-ovince  of  Behar  and  Orissa  under  a 


544  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Lieutenant-G-overnor  in  Council,  and  prays,  thafc  in  re-adjustinpj 
the  provincial  boundaries,  the  Government  vrill  be  pleased  to  place 
all  the  Bengali-speaking  districts  under  one  and  the  same 
adm  iriistration . 

Sanitation 

VII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  vi'hile  thanking  the 
Government  for  having  initiated  a  system  of  Scientific  Enquiry  into 
the  circumstances  affecting  the  origin  and  progress  of  plague, 
malaria  and  other  diseases,  urges  the  necessity  of  inimediately 
taking  in  hand  such  practical  measures  as  the  opening  of  congested 
arens,  the  reclamation  of  silted  rivers,  the  clearing  of  jungles,  the 
draining  of  water-logo-ed  areas,  and  better  provision  for  the  supply 
of  pure  di'inking  water  throughout  the  country. 

XXXI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  convey  to 
Sir  William  Wedderburu,  Mr.  A.  0  Hume,  Sir  Henry  Cotton  and 
other  members  of  the  British  Committee  its  grateful  thanks  for 
their  disinterested  and  strenuous  services,  and  it  takes  this  oppor- 
tunity to  make  an  earnest  appeal  to  the  Indian  public  to  pl.ice 
adequate  funds  at  the  disposal  of  the  Commictee  to  enable  it  t  > 
carry  on  its  work  with  vigour. 

[And  see  VIII  and  XXVI.] 

Coercion 

IV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  respectfully  repeats  its 
protest  against  the  Seditious  Meetings  Act  and  the  Press  Act,  and 
prays  that,  in  view  of  the  loyal  enthusiasm  evoked  by  the  Royal 
visit,  and  the  official  pronouncements  about  an  improvement  in  the 
general  situation,  these  measures,  as  well  as  the  Regulations 
authorising  deportations  without  trial,  may  now  be  removed  from 
the  Indian  Statute  Book. 

Relrnxc  of  Pollticnl  Prii^oners 

XXI.  Resolved  —  That,  in  view  of  the  gratif^-ing  improvement 
in  the  general  situation  of  the  country,  this  Congress  respectfully 
submits  that  the  advent  to  India  of  Their  Imperial  Majesties  may 
be  signalised  by  the  release  of  those  who  are  undergoing 
imprisonment  for  purely  political  offences  ;  such  an  act  will  be 
appreciated  throughout  India,  and  will  deepen  the  feeh'ngs  of 
profound  gratitude  and  loyalty  which  the  Royal  visit    has  evoked. 

Congress  Constitution 

V.  Resolved — That  the  Constitution  nnd  Rules  of  the  Indian 
National  Congress  as  amended  by  the  Sub-Committee  appointed  at 
the  last  Session  of  the  Congress  be  adopted. 


THE    TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS  545 

XVI.  Resolved— That  the  All-India  Congress  Committee  be 
asked  to  consider  and  report  to  the  next  Congress  what  further 
modifications  may  be  made  in  the  Constitution  and  Rules  with  a 
view  to  promote  the  objects  of  the  Congress  as  laid  down  in  Article  I 
of  the  Constitution,  keeping  that  article  intact. 

Sisadeshi 

VI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  accords  its  most  cordial 
support  to  the  Swadeshi  Movement  and  calls  upon  the  people  of 
India  to  labour  for  its  success  by  making  earnest  and  sustained 
efforts  to  promote  the  growth  of  indigenous  industries  by  giving 
preference,  whenever  practicable,  to  Indian  products  over  imported 
commodities,  even  at  a  sacrifice. 

liOcal  Self-Government 

VIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  expresses  its  satisfaction 
that  the  Secretary  of  State  has  recognised  that  the  Local  Self-Govern- 
ment scheme  of  Lord  Ripon  has  not  had  a  fair  trial,  and  the 
Congress  expresses  the  earnest  hope  that  the  Government  may  be 
pleased  to  take  early  steps  to  extend  the  application  of  the 
principle  of  election  in  the  constitution  of  all  Local  Bodies,  and  to 
confer  upon  them  the  right  of  electing  non-official  chairmen,  and 
further  that  they  may  be  provided  with  adequate  financial  aid  by 
the  State. 

Finance 

IX.  Resolved — That  having  regard  to  the  enormous  growth 
that  has  taken  place  in  the  public  expenditure  of  the  countrj-,  this 
Congress  urges  that  early  steps  be  taken  towards  effective 
retrenchment  in  all  the  spending  departments  for  the  Imperial 
and  the  Provincial  Governments  and  specially  the  Military 
Department. 

Excise  Duties  and  Cotton 

X.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  coun- 
tervailing Excise  Duties  on  Indian  Cottons  are  handicapping  the 
growth  and  expansion  of  the  Indian  manufacturing  industry,  and 
earnestly  prays  to  the  Government  of  India  that  they  may  be  abo- 
lished at  an  early  date. 

Permanent  Settlements 

XL  Resolved — That  a  reasonable  and  definite  limitation  to 
the  demand  of  the  State  on  Land  and  the  Introduction  of  a  Perman- 
ent Settlement  directly  between  the  Government  and  holders  of  laniJ 
in    ryotwari   areas,   or  a  settlement  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  6U 

42 


546  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

years  in  those  Provinces  where  short  periodical  settlements  or 
revisions  prevail,  will,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  substantially 
help  in  ameliorating  the  present  unsatisfactory  condition  of  the 
agricultui-al  population. 

Education 

Mr.   Gul-hale\<   Bill 

XII.  Resolved — That  tliis  Congress  accords  its  whole-hearted 
support  to  the  principles  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Gokhale's  Elementary 
Education  Bill  and  expresses  its  earnest  hope  that  the  Government 
will  be  pleased  to  afford  the  necessaiy  facilities  for  the  further 
stages  of  this  Bill  in  Council. 

HigJier  and  Technical  Education 

XVIIl.  Resolved — That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the 
time  has  arrived  for  people  all  over  the  countrj'  to  take  up  earnestly 
the  qiiestion  of  supjjlementing  existing  institutions  and  the  efforts 
of  the  Government  by  organising  for  themselves  an  independent 
system  of  Literary,  Scientific,  Technical  and  Industrial  Education, 
suited  to  the  conditions  of  the  different  Provinces  of  India. 

This  Congress  further  is  of  opinion  that  the  Government 
:should  take  early  steps  : 

(a)  to  assign  larger  sums  of  money  to  Secondary  and  Higher 
lEducation  (special  encouragement  being  given  where  necessary  to 
educate  all  backward  classes)  ; 

(b)  to  make  adeqiaate  provisions  for  imparting  Industrial 
and  Technical  EducMtion  in  the  different  Provinces,  having  regard 
to  local  requirements  ;  and 

(c)  to  give  effective  voice  to  the  leaders  of  Indian  public 
opinion  in  shaping  the  policy  and  system  of  Education  in  this 
country. 

Representation 

XIII.  Resolved — While  recognising  the  necessity  of  providing 
for  a  fair  and  adequate  representation  in  the  Legislative  Council  for 
the  Muhammadan  and  other  commimities  where  they  are  in  a 
minority,  this  Congress  disapproves  of  the  Regulations  promulgated 
in  1909  to  carry  out  this  object  by  means  of  separate  electorates, 
:a)nd  in  particular  urges  upon  the  Government  the  justice  and  ex- 
pediency of  modifying  the  Regulations  framed  under  the  Indian 
Cormcil's  Act  of  1909  before  another  election  comes  on,  so  as  to 
remove  anomalous  distinctions  between  different  sections  of  His 
Majesty's  subjects  in  the  matter  of  the  franchise,  and  the  qualifica- 
tions of  candidates  and  the  arbitrary  disqualifications  and  restrictions 
for  candidates  seeking  election  to  the  Councils.     This  Congress  also 


\ 


THE    TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS  547 

urges  a  modification  of  the  Resolutions,  where  necessary,  relating 
to  the  composition  of  non-official  majorities  in  the  Provincial  Coun- 
cils so  as  to  i-ender  them  effective  for  practical  purposes. 

Separate  Electorates 

XIV.  ]iesolved— That  this  Congress  strongly  deprecates  the 
extension  of  the  principle  of  Separate  Communal  Electorates  to 
Municipalities,  District  Boards  or  other  Local  Bodies. 

Council  and  Governor 

XX.  Kesolved — That  this  Congress  strongly  ui'ges  upon  the 
Government  the  justice  of  creating  an  Executive  Council  in  the 
United  Provinces  at  as  early  a  date  as  may  be  practicable,  and  it 
further  expresses  an  earnest  hope  that  those  Provinces  will  soon  be 
jjlaced  under  a  Governor,  as  Matlras,  Bombay  and  Bengal. 

Council  for  tltr  Panjab 

XXII.  Resolved— That  this  Congress  expresses  its  earnest 
hope  that  the  Government  will  be  pleased  to  appoint  an  Executive 
Council  for  the  Panjab. 

Councils  for   C.   P.  and  Berar 

XXIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the 
time  has  come  for  the  establishment  of  a  Pro\-incial  Legislative 
Council  for  the  Central  Provinces  and  Berar,  and  for  according  to 
Bei-ar,  which  is  now  held  by  the  British  Government  on  a 
permanent  tenure,  the  status  and  privileges  which  are  accorded  to 
Provinces  included  in  British  India. 

Legal 

Separation  (f  Judicial  and  Executive  Fujictions 

XV.  Resolved — (a)  That  this  Congress  places  on  record  its 
sense  of  regret  that  notwithstanding  the  hopes  held  out  by  the 
Government  some  time  ago  that  the  Executive  and  Judicial  functions 
were  soon  to  be  separated,  no  effective  steps  have  yet  been  taken  in 
that  direction,  and,  concurring  with  previous  Congresses,  it  urges  that 
any  scheme  of  Sepai-ation  to  be  really  effective  must  place  all  the 
judiciary  completely  under  the  control  of  the  highest  civil  courts  in 
every  Province  in  respect  of  pay,  promotion  and  transfer. 

(b)  This  Congress,  concurring  with  previous  Congresses, 
urges  that  the  Judicial  Service  in  all  parts  of  the  country  should  be 
recruited  mainly  from  the  legal  profession. 

High   Court !i 

XXV.  Resolved — That  this  Con.rress  is  strongly  of  opinion 
that    all    the    High   Courts    in    India    should   have    the  same  direct 


548  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

relations    with    the    Government    of  India    alone  as  the  High  Court 
of  Fort  William  in  Bengal  at  present  lime. 

La^v  Memhershlp 

XXVII.  Resolved  -  That  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Section  III 
of  the  Indi  m  Councils  Act  of  1861  is  understood  in  practice  to 
limit  appointment  to  the  office  of  Law  member  of  the  Viceroy's 
Executive  Council  to  members  of  the  English  Bar  only,  thereby 
greatly  restricting  the  field  from  which  a  selection  may  be  made, 
this  Congress  urges  that  the  said  section  be  so  amended  as  to  allow 
Advocates,  Vakils  and  Attorneys-at-Law  of  Indian  High  Courts 
being  appointed  to  that  office. 

Public  Service 

Police 

XVII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  place  on 
record  its  deliberate  opinion  that  the  reforms  in  the  Police  system 
which  have  been  effected  imder  the  recommendations  of  Sir  Andrew 
Eraser's  Commission  have  not  produced  the  results  which  had  been 
anticipated,  as  is  evident  from  the  judicial  findings  of  the  highest 
courts  in  some  recent  cases,  and  they  have  not  improved  the 
quality  or  the  efficiency  of  the  police  force,  including  the  village 
police.  This  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  pay  and  prospects 
of  the  Indian  officers  are  not  sufficient  to  attract  the  best  men 
to  the  Service,  and  it  strongly  protests  against  the  practical  exclusion 
of  Indians  of  a  better  class  from  the  higher  offices  of  trust  and 
responsibility,  and  records  its  conviction  that  no  real  improvement 
in  the  methods  of  Police  investigation  can  be  effected  unless  con- 
fessions are  made  inadmissible,  except  when  made  at  trial. 

Si  mult  a  neo  un  Examinations 

XIX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  record.s  its  emphatic 
opinion  that  the  present  differentiation  of  the  Civil  Service  into 
(1)  the  Imperial  Service  recruited  in  England,  mainly  from 
Europeans ;  and  (2)  the  Provincial  Services  recruited  in  India, 
mainly  from  Indians,  is  opposed  to  the  declarations  made  in  the 
statutes  of  18';3  and  1870  and  the  Queen's  Proclamation  of  1858, 
and  that  such  differentiation  should  be  abolished  as  early  as 
}K)Ssible  and  thiit  Indians  should  be  afforded  equal  opportunities  with 
Europeans,  for  appointment  to  posts  now  reserved  for  the  Imperial 
Service,  hj  the  holding  of  Simultaneous  Examinations  in  England 
and  India  under  conditions  calculated  to  secure  the  best  men  for 
the  posts. 

Military 

XXIV.  Resolv(!d — That  this  Congress  is  strongly  of  opinion 
that  the    injustice    of  keeping    the  higher  ranks  of  the  Army  closed 


THE    TWENTY-SIXTH    CONGRESS  549 

against  the  people  of  this  country  should  remain  no  longer 
unredressed,  and  this  Congress  expresses  its  earnest  hope  that  the 
general  expectation  in  the  country  that,  before  His  Imperial 
Majesty  the  King-Emperor  leaves  the  shores  of  India,  a  mo)-e  liberal 
policy  under  which  commissions  in  the  army  will  be  granted  to 
selected  Indians  will  be  announced,  will  not  be  disappointed. 

Medical 

XXVI.  Resolved — (a)  That  this  Congress  while  thanking  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  his  despatch  regarding  the  employment  of 
Indians  in  the  superior  posts  of  the  Civil  Medical  Service,  regrets 
that  no  action  has  as  yet  been  taken  in  the  matter. 

(b)  In  the  interests  of  the  public,  and  the  medical  service 
and  the  profession,  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of  economy  in  expendi- 
ture, this  Congress,  concurring  with  previous  Congresses,  'urges 
the  constitution  of  a  distinct  Indian  Medical  Service  wholly 
independent  of  the  Indian  (Military)  Medical  Service. 

Reduction  of  Cable  Bates 

XXVIII.  Eesolved — That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress, 
and  in  the  interests  of  the  newspaper  press  and  of  trade  and 
•commerce,  it  is  extremely  desirable  that  the  rate  of  Cable  Messages 
between  England  and  India  should  be  further  reduced,  so  as  to 
bring  it  into  line  with  the  rate  which,  under  recent  arrangement, 
has  been  announced  to  come  into  force  between  England  and 
Canada  and  Australia  from  the  ensuing  year. 

Indians  in  the  Colonies 

XXIX.  Resolved--(o)  That  this  Congress,  anticipating  the 
forthcoming  legislation  of  the  Provincial  Settlement  recently  arrived 
at,  cordially  congratulates  Mr.  Gandhi  and  the  Transvaal  Indian 
Community  upon  the  repeal  of  the  anti-Asiatic  Legislation  of  the 
Province  regarding  registration  and  immigration,  and  expresses  its 
high  admiration  of  the  intense  patriotism,  courage  and  self-sacrifice 
with  which  they — Muhammadan  and  Hindu,  Zoroastrian  and  Christian 
— have  suffered  persecution  in  the  interests  of  their  countrymen, 
during  their  peaceful  and  selfless  struggle  for  elementary  civil 
rights  against  overwhelming  odds. 

(b)  Whilst  appreciating  the  endeavours  that  have  been  made 
from  time  to  time  to  secure  the  redress  of  the  grievances  of  the 
Indians  of  South  Africa  and  other  British  Colonies,  this  Congress 
urges  that,  in  view  of  the  avowed  inability  of  His  Majesty's 
Government  to  adopt  a  firm  and  decisive  attitude  in  this  matter, 
the  Government  of  India  should  take  such  retaliatory  measures  as 
may  be  calculated  to  protect  Indian  self-respect  and  the  interests  of 


550  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Indian    residents    in    those  parts  of  the  Empire,  and  thus  remove  a 
great  source  of  discontent  among  the  people  of  this  country. 

(c)  This  Congress  further  protests  against  the  declaration  of 
responsible  statesmen  in  favour  of  allowing  the  Self-Governing 
Colonies  in  the  British  Empire  to  monopolise  vast  imdeveloped 
tei-ritories  for  exclusive  white  settlements,  and  deems  it  its  duty  to 
point  out  that  the  policy  of  shutting  the  door  in  these  territories 
against,  and  denying  the  rights  of  full  British  citizenship  to,  all 
Asiatic  subjects  of  the  British  Crown,  while  preaching  and  enforc- 
ing the  opposite  policy  of  the  open  door  in  Asia  is  fraught  witli 
grave  mischief    to  the  Empire  and  is  as  unwise  as  it  is  unrighteous. 

(d)  Wliilst  thanking  the  Government  of  India  for  the  prohibi- 
tion to  the  recruitment  of  indentured  Indian  labour  for  South 
Africa,  this  Congress  is  strongly  of  opinion  that  in  the  highest 
National  interests,  the  system  of  indentured  labour  is  undesirable 
and  should  be  abolished,  and  respectfully  urges  the  Gov^-rument  to 
prohibit  the  further  recruitment  of  Indian  labour  under  contract 
of  indenture,  wiiether  for  service  at  home  or  abroad. 

Formal 

XXX.     Resolved— That   Messrs.  D.  E.  Wacha  and  D.  A.  Khare 
be  appointed  General    Secretaries  for  the  ensuing  year. 

XXXII.     Resolved — That  the  following  gentlemen  do  form  the 
All-India  Congress  Committee  for  the  next  year  (list  omitted). 

XXXni.     Resolved— That     the     next     Congress     be      held    at 
Bankipur. 


CHAPTER  XXVIT 

Most  unfortunately,  something  went  wrong  with 
the  reporters  at  this  meeting  and  there  is  no  Official 
Record  of  the  Twenty-seventh  Congress  at  Bankipur, 
in  December,  1912.  The  President  was  Mr.  E.  N. 
Mudholkar,  and  the  Constitution  and  Rules  of  the 
National  Congress  were  there  again  passed  as 
amended.  It  would  be  well,  if  possible,  to  make 
even  a  skeleton  Report,  with  the  Resolutions  at  leasts 
Some  joapers,  making  this  possible,  must  be  in  the- 
hands  of  Messrs.  D.  E.  Wacha  and  D.  A.  Khare. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 


The  Twenty-eiglitli  National  Congress  met  in 
Karachi,  Sindh,  on  the  26th,  27th  and  28th  December, 
1913.  The  Pavilion  was  dignified  and  well  decorated, 
and  each  of  the  sixteen  gates  was  ornamented  with  a 
motto  descriptive  of  the  objects  of  the  Congress — 
an  original  idea.  The  delegates  were  550  in  number, 
distributed  as  follows  : 


Bombay  and  Sindh  ... 

264 

U.  P.   ... 

13 

Pan  jab 

10 

Behar... 

4 

Madras 

33 

Bengal 

22 

Canada 

3 

Sindh  (Reception  Committee) 

201 

550 

Some  notable  figures  were  absent  from  the  Con- 
gress. The  heart-affection  which  killed  him  in  1915 
kept  Mr.  Gokhale  away,  and  Sir  Pherozeshah  Mehta, 
Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  and  Pandit  Madan  Mohan 
Malaviya  were  all  absent. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Harchandrai  Vishindas,  the  Chair- 
man    of   the    Reception    Committee,    welcomed    the 


THE    TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS  553 

President-elect  and  the  delegates,  and  gave  a  short 
sketch  of  Sindh  and  its  special  difficulties,  such  as 
its  decennial  revision  Settlements  and  its  irrigation 
problem.  He  then  turned  to  the  various  questions 
which  lay  before  the  Congress  for  discussion,  and 
finally  called  on  the  deh^gates  formally  to  elect  the  Hon. 
Nawab  Syed  Muhammad  Bahadur  as  President.  The 
proposal  was  moved  by  Rao  Bahadur  R.  N.  Mudhol- 
kar,  seconded  by  Rai  Baikunthanath  Sen,  supported  by 
Mr.  Gropaldas  Jhamatmal  and  Pandit  Rambhuj  Dutt 
Choudhuri,  and  carried  with  acclamation. 

After  speaking  of  the  necessity  of  the  continued 
work  of  the  Congress,  he  alluded  to  the  King- 
Emperor's  message  on  leaving  India,  and  urged  that 
the  unity  hoped  for  by  His  Majesty  should  be  sought, 
and  that  Muhammadans,  Christians,  Parsis  and 
Hindus,  should  advance  together,  rather  than  in 
separate  groups.  He  noted  the  rappruclierneiit  of 
Hindus  and  Musalmans,  as  shown  by  the  hope  ex- 
pressed by  the  All-India  Muslim  League  that  the 
leaders  on  both  sides  should  meet  periodically  "  to 
find  a  mudus  uperaiidi  for  join.t  and  concerted 
action  in  questions  of  public  good  ".  He  next 
spoke  of  the  troubles  of  the  Indians  in  South 
Africa,  then  reaching  their  climax,  and  he  advised 
retaliatory  measures  against  South  African  whites, 
such  as  shutting  out  Natal  coal,  and  closing  the  door 
of  the  Civil  Service  against  them.  He  then  turned 
to  the  India  Council  and  the  need  for  its  radical 
reform  ;  it  must  be  only  an  advisory,  not  an  adminis- 
trative   body.     He  repeated  the  condemnation  of  the 


554  HOW    INDIA    WKOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Regulations  which  had  spoiled  the  reforms,  showed 
how  dilatory  was  the  action  of  Grovernment  with 
regard  to  Local  Self-Government,  emphasised  the 
enormous  importance  of  Primary  and  Technical 
Education,  and  the  need  of  Permanent  Settlement  to 
relieve  the  grave  economic  situation.  The  President 
alluded  also  to  the  Public  Service  Commission  then 
in  India,  and  urged  the  granting  to  Indians  of 
Commissions  in  the  Army,  quoting  some  recent 
remarks  on  the  subject  by  Lord  Minto  in  London, 
the  previous  year,  relating  his  efforts  to  bring  it 
about.  He  then  said  a  few  words,  fraught  with 
deep  emotion,  on  "  the  subversion  of  the  Ottoman 
power  in  Europe  and  the  strangling  of  Persia," 
and  expressed  the  grief  Avith  which  all  the 
Muslims  had  felt  the  blow  to  their  Turkish  brethren. 
He  concluded  with  an  earnest  plea  that  Hindus  and 
Musalmans  should  clasp  hands,  and  work  for  the 
Motherland.  "  The  tide  of  National  Unity  ....  by 
God's  grace,  will  surely  sweep  away  in  its  majestic 
onward  course  the  unnatural  and  artificial  barriers  of 
race,  colour  and  religion." 

The  President  resumed  his  seat  amid  loud  applause. 

The  second  day's  work  began  with  the  moving 
from  the  Chair  of  Resolution  I,  regretting  the  deaths 
of  Mr.  J.  Ghosal  and  Mr.  Justice  P.  R.  Sundara  Aiyar. 
It  was  passed  standing. 

Resolution  II,  dealing  with  the  Indians  in  South 
Africa,  was  moved  by  Pewan  Bahadur  L.  A.  Govinda- 
raghava  Aiyar,  and  seconded  by  Lala  Lajpat  Rai  in 
Hindustani.     It   was  supported  by  six  more  speakers. 


THE    TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS  555 

who   urged   the   arguments   so    familiar  to  us  all,  and 
was  carried. 

The  second  day  began  with  the  moving  of  Resolu- 
tion in,  the  Separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive 
Functions,  by  Mr.  C.  P.  Ramaswami  Aiyar,  who 
quoted  Sir  Harvey  Adamson's  condemnation  of  a 
judge  having  the  police  organisation  at  his  back ; 
Mr.  R.  C.  Dutt  and  Sir  Pherozeshah  Mehta  had  show- 
ed that  the  reform  would  not  entail  extra  expenditure. 
A  re-distribution  of  functions  among  munsiffs, 
magistrates  and  judges  could  be  made  without  greater 
cost.  Mr.  K.  C.  Ganguli  seconded,  complaining  that 
the  Congress  had  passed  an  annual  resolution  since 
1886,  but  the  bureaucracy  opposed  it.  Messrs. 
Lalchand  Navalrai  and  Abdul  Rahman  supported, 
and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  IV  welcomed  the  adoption  by  the 
Muslim  League  of  the  ideal  of  Self-Grovernment  for 
India,  and  the  declaration  of  the  necessity  of 
harmonious  co-operation,  to  be  found  by  the  leaders 
deciding  on  joint  concerted  action.  It  Avas  proposed 
by  Mr.  Bhupendranath  Basu,  saying  that  Hindus 
and  Muhammadans  must  concentrate  their  attention 
on  the  one  united  ideal,  for  the  Iiidia  of  to-day  was 
not  the  India  of  the  Hindu  or  the  Muslim,  nor  of  the 
Anglo-Indian,  much  less  of  the  European,  but  the 
India  in  which  all  had  a  shai-e.  "  If  there  have  been 
misunderstandings  in  the  past,  let  us  forget  them." 
If  they  were  united,  "  the  India  of  the  future  will  be 
a  stronger,  nobler,  greater,  higher,  aye,  and  a 
brighter    India   than    was  realised   by  Ashoka  in  the 


556  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

plenitude     of    liis     power,    a    better   India   than    was 
revealed  to  Akbar  in  the  wildest  of  his  visions  ". 

Rao  Bahadur  R.  N.  Mudholkar  seconded,  and  said 
that  the  Congress  and  the  League  now  stood  on  a 
common  platform,  and  could  work  together.  Mr. 
Jehangir  B.  Petit  said  that  many  had  thought  that 
Hindus  and  Muslims  would  never  unite,  but  that  if 
they  did  they  would  be  a  powerful  instrument  for 
good  and  a  force  to  be  reckoned  with.  Mr.  D.  A. 
Khare  said  that  Self-Government  would  be  won  by  the 
brotherhood  of  Hindu  and  Muslim.  Mr.  Mathradas 
Ramchand  further  supported,  and  Mr,  C.  Gopala 
Menon  welcomed  the  pronouncement  of  the  Muslim 
League  as  marking  an  important  epoch  in  the  history 
of  the  Congress.  Mr.  D.  B.  Wacha  said  that  the 
Congress  had  entered  on  a  new  Nativity  and  with 
the  new  Star  they  would  achieve  new  success.  The 
Resolution  was  carried  with  great  applause. 

Resolution  V  was  on  the  Reform  of  the  India 
Council.  It  was  moved  by  Mr.  M.  A,  Jinnah,  who 
pointed  out  that  the  Council  was  composed  of  old 
officials  who  had  served  in  India,  and  non-official 
India  had  no  voice.  1'he  Secretary  of  State  was 
responsible  to  noljody,  and  was  a  greater  Mughal 
than  any  Mughal  who  had  ever  ruled  in  India.  Mr. 
N.  M.  Samarth  seconded,  and  said  that  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  India  should  be  accountable  to  Parliament 
as  was  the  Secrotaiy  for  the  Colonies,  and  one-third 
of  the  Council  slujuld  be  elected  by  Indians.  The 
Hon.  Mr.  Krishna  Rao  supported,  and  gave  a  short 
review    of    the    changes    that    had  taken  place  in  the 


THE    TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS  557 

constitution  of  the  Council.  The  Resolution  was 
further  supported  by  Messrs.  Gopaldas  Jhamatmal 
and  Surendranath  Mallik,  and  carried. 

The  Congress  then  adjourned. 

On  meeting  for  the  third  session,  the  Congress 
took  up  a  new  question,  the  "  continuous  journey 
clause  "  of  the  Canadian  Privy  Council  Order,  No.  920. 
The  ingenuity  of  this  clause  was  that  it  forbade 
Indians  to  enter  Canada  unless  they  had  made  a 
continuous  journey  from  India,  and  they  could  not 
make  a  continuous  journey  because  there  was  no 
direct  boat-service  and  the  Steamship  Companies 
refused  through  booking.  Hence  it  forbade  the  entry 
of  any  Indian  into  Canada,  and  prevented  any  Indian 
already  there  from  bringing  over  his  wife  and  family. 
[It  was  this  Order  which  caused  the  chartering  of 
the  Kumagatu  and  the  subsequent  troubles.]  The 
Resolution  (VI)  was  moved  by  Sardar  Nand  Singh 
Sikra,  who,  himself  a  Sikh,  spoke  for  his  brethren  in 
Canada,  but  pointed  out  that  all  India  suffered  in 
the  suffering  of  Sikhs  in  Canada  and  Indians  in  South 
Africa,  and  "  we  join  hands  as  one  United  Nation, 
and  with  one  heart  and  one  voice  we  condemn  the 
Colonial  atrocities '\  The  Chief  Justice  of  British 
Columbia  had  condemned  as  illegal  the  Federal 
Orders  in  Council,  but  that  did  not  seem  to  help 
them  much.  General  Swayne  had  explained  the 
real  reason  of  the  exclusion.    He  said  : 

One  of  those  things  that  make  the  presence  of  East 
Indians  here,  or  in  any  other  white  Colony,  politically 
inexpedient,    is    the     familiarity    they    acquire    with    the 


558  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    TOR    FREEDOM 

whites,  the  instance  of  which  is  given  by  the  speedy 
elimination  of  caste  in  this  Province,  as  shown  by  the 
way  all  castes  help  each  other.  These  men  go  back  to 
India,  and  preach  ideas  of  emancipation,  which,  if 
brought  about,  would  upset  the  machinery  of  law  and  order. 
While  this  emancipation  may  be  a  good  thing  at  some 
future  date,  the  present  time  is  premature  for  the 
emancipation  of  caste. 

Is  then  the  whole  Empire  in  a  conspiracy  against 
Indian  freedom,  and  is  caste  to  be  a  Aveapon  in  the 
hands  of  the  bureaucracy  to  prevent  her  emancipa- 
tion ? 

The  Sardar  8ahab  was  one  of  tlie  three  delegates 
elected  by  the  Canadian  Sikhs  on  February  22nd, 
1913,  to  go  to  the  Congress  and  represent  their 
grievances. 

Mr.  Krishna  Kumar  Mitra  seconded,  remarking 
that  it  would  be  better  for  Canadians  to  say  openly 
that  they  would  not  admit  Indians  rather  than  pass 
so  cowardly  a  law.  Mr.  Ayub  Khan  and  Pandit 
Rambhuj  Dutt  Choudhuri  supported,  and  the  Reso- 
lution was  carried. 

Resolution  VII  was  on  the  Pul)lic  Service  Commis- 
sion, and  was  very  full,  laying  down  the  grievances 
under  which  Indians  suffered  and  suggesting  changes. 
It  was  moved  by  Rai  Baikunthanath  Sen  Bahadur, 
who  remarked  on  the  charges  levelled  by  witnesses 
before  the  Royal  Commission  against  Indians ;  it  was 
said  they  had  defects  in  moral  character,  and  were 
lacking  in  physical  endurance,  administrative  efficiency 
and  power  of  initiative.  He  brought  in  rebuttal  the 
districts   in    East  Benofal  where  there  were  anarchical 


THE    TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS  559 

disturbances,  and  while  those  managed  by  British 
Civilians  were  much  disturbed,  those  in  charge  of" 
Bengali  Civilians  were  kept  quiet.  He  asked  for  the 
cases  where  Indians  had  failed.  Witnesses  from 
English  commercial  houses  naturally  preferred  their 
own  kith  and  kin  and  depreciated  Indians. 

The  Hon.  Dr.  Nilratan  Sarkar  seconded,  and  took 
the  sound  ground  that  Indians  had  a  birthright  to 
serve  their  own  country,  and  that  non-Indians  should 
be  admitted  only  when  necessary  and  for  a  short 
time.  But  in  the  Public  Services,  "the  upper  branch 
is  synonymous  with  European,  and  the  lower  with 
Indian.  This  is  as  indefensible  in  principle  as  it  is 
mischievous  in  practice,"  "We  are  to  remain 
content  as  a  Nation  of  assistants."  He  illus- 
trated Indian  efficiency  with  various  examples, 
and  remarked  that  Dr.  Pal  Roy  had  no  equal  in 
India,  "  but  he  is  to  remain  all  his  life  in  the  Provin- 
cial inferior  Service  ".  Messrs.  V.  V.  Jogiah  Pantulu 
and  Mathradas  Ramchand  supported  the  Resolution 
and  it  was  carried. 

Mr.  Bhupendranath  Hasu  moved  Resolution  VIII, 
asking  for  the  repeal  of  the  Press  Act.  He  pointed 
out  that  in  1837,  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe  had  liberated 
the  Indian  Press  ;  Lord  Lytton  replaced  fetters  in 
1878  with  his  Vernacular  Press  Act,  but  Mr.  Glad- 
stone repealed  it.  When  Sir  Herbert  Risley  spoke  in 
1910  in  favour  of  introducing  the  present  Press 
Act,  he  had  destroyed  several  papers,  such  as 
the  G'ltgaiitar,  and  had  said  that  in  the  47 
cases    instituted    by    Government  under  the    old   law 


560  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FRKKDOM 

of  sedition,  a  conviction  had  been  secured  in 
every  one.  What  more  did  they  want  ?  The  Law 
Member,  who  certainly  believed  what  he  said,  had 
laid  stress  on  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  High  Court^ 
but  in  a  late  case  the  High  Court  had  said  that  a  for- 
feiture was  invalid  and  illegal,  but  the  High  Court  had 
no  power  to  interfere.  So  there  was  "  a  special  law  of 
a  very  drastic  nature  without  any  safeguards,"  and  it 
was  "  a  wet  cloth  on  all  expressions  of  public 
opinion  ".  "  Situated  as  the  Government  of  India  is, 
foreign  in  its  composition  and  aloof  in  its  character, 
that  law  is  a  source  of  great  peril."  Mr.  Dalvi, 
seconding,  quoted  Sir  L.  Jenkins,  the  Chief  Justice, 
in  the  Comrade  case,  who  said  that  it  is  difficult  to  see 
to  what  lengths  the  operation  of  these  sections  may 
not  be  plausibly  extended  by  an  ingenious  mind. 

Mr.  J.  Choudhuri,  supporting,  gave  his  own  case 
as  editor  of  a  legal  journal,  tbe  Calcutta  Weekly  Notes. 
His  printer  and  publisher  died,  and  he  had  to  find  a 
new  one,  and  was  running  backwards  and  forwards 
between  his  office  and  the  Presidency  Magistrate's 
Court  before  his  declaration  was  accepted.  The  C.I.D. 
could  find  nothing  against  the  printer,  except  that 
his  knowledge  of  English  was  not  as  perfect  as  it 
mijjht  be!  Sir  Herbert  Risley  had  said  that  the 
Press  Act  Avould  not  affect  existing  papers,  and  that 
the  administration  of  the  law  would  not  be  in  the 
hands  of  tlie  Police.  Both  assurances  were  false. 
When  a  declaration  is  made  the  magistrate  hands 
over  the  papers  to  the  C.T.D.,  and  tlie  Hahul  Alatin, 
an   existing   paper,  was    called  on  to  furnish  security. 


THE    TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS  561 

Mr,  Kishindas  Jhamrai  supported  the  Resolution,  and 
it  was  carried. 

Resolution  IX,  on  Permanent  Settlement,  was 
moved  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  A.  S.  Krishna  Rao,  seconded 
by  Rao  Bahadur  Hiranand  Khemsing,  supported  by 
Mr.  Mathradas  Ramchand,  and  carried. 

Then  followed  a  series  of  Resolutions,  put  from  tli-e 
Chair  :  X,  Army  Commission  ;  XI,  Education  (including 
a  protest  against  the  veto  by  the  Government  of 
India  of  three  lecturers,  Messrs.  Rasul,  Subravardi 
and  Jayaswal,  on  the  ground  of  their  connection  Avith 
politics)  ;  XII,  High  Courts  ;  XIII,  Swadeshi ;  XIV, 
Indentured  Labour ;  XV,  Local  Self-Government ; 
XVI,  Council  Regulation  ;  XVII,  Executive  Councils 
for  U.  P.  and  Panjab ;  XVIII,  authorising  the  All- 
India  Congress  Committee  to  arrange  a  deputation 
to  England,  to  represent  Indian  views  on  :  (1) 
Indians  in  S.  Africa  and  the  Colonies;  (2)  Press 
Act;  (8)  Reform  of  the  India  Council;  (4)  Separ- 
ation of  Judicial  and  Executive  Functions ;  (5) 
Important  Questions  on  which  Congress  has  expressed 
opinion  ;  XIX,  Thanks  to  Sir  William  Wedderburn 
and  members  of  the  British  Committee.  These 
Resolutions,  put  .seriatim,  were  really  our  old  friend 
the  Omnibus. 

Resolution  XX,  was  an  expression  of  deep  regret  at 
the  retirement  of  Messrs.  Wacha  and  Khare,  from 
the  office  of  Secretaries,  and  thanks  for  their  work. 
Rai  Baikunthanath  Sen  Bahadur  voiced  the  gratitude 
of  the  Congress  to  the  eminent  veteran,  who  had 
acted  for  18  years,  with  great  self-denial  and  ability. 
43 


562  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FKEEDOM 

Mr.  Khare  had  worked  well  for  6  years.  Mr.  C.  P. 
E,amaswami  Aiyar  seconded,  saying  that  the  great- 
ness of  the  Congress  was  largely  due  to  its  Secretaries. 
The  Resolution  was  carried  with  cheers,  and  then 
the  Hon.  Mr.  Harchandrai  Vishindas  proposed  and 
Mr.  D.  G.  Dalvi  seconded  the  election  of  the  Hon. 
Nawab  Syed  Muhammad  Bajiadur  and  Mr.  N.  Subba 
Rao  Pantulu  as  General  Secretaries  for  the  ensuing 
year.     Carried. 

Mr.  N.  Subba  Rao  invited  the  Congress  to  Madras, 
and  Resolution  XXII  decided  the  acceptance. 

The  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Chair  was  moved  by  Mr. 
Ghulamali  G.  Chayla,  seconded  by  Mr.  Bhupendranath 
Basu,  supported  by  Mr.  Lakamal.Chellaram  and  Mir 
Ayab  Khan,  and  carried  by  acclamation.  The 
President's  brief  reply  closed  the  proceedings,  and  the 
Twenty-eighth  National  Congress  dissolved. 

RESOLUTIONS 

Grief  of  Congress 

I.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  place  on  record 
its  sense  of  the  great  loss  sustained  by  the  country  by  the  death 
of  Mr.  J.  Ghosal,  who  was  a  staunch  worker  in  the  Congress  cause, 
and  Mr.  Justice  P.  R.  Sundara  Aiyer. 

Indians  in  South  Africa  and  Canada 

Soidlt  Africa 

II.  Resolved — (a)  That  this  Congress  enters  its  emphatic 
protest  against  the  provisions  of  the  Immigration  Act  in  that  they 
violate  the  promises  made  by  the  Ministers  of  the  South  African 
Union,  and  respectfully  urges  the  Crown  to  veto  the  Act  and 
requests  the  Imperial  and  Indian  Governments  to  adopt  such 
measures  as  would  ensure  to  the  Indians  in  South  Africa  just  and 
honourable  treatment. 

(h)  Tliat  this  Congress  cxjjresses   its  abliorrence  of  the  cruel 
treatment   to  which    Indians  were  subjected  in  Natal  in  the  recent 


THE    TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS  563 

strikes,  and  entirely  disapproves  of  the  personnel  of  the  Committee 
appointed  by  the  Sotith  African  Union  to  enquire  into  the  matter, 
as  two  of  its  members  are  already  known  to  be  biassed  against 
Indians  and  as  it  does  not  include  persons  who  command  the 
confidence  of  Indians  in  South  Africa  and  here. 

(c)  That  this  Congress  tenders  its  most  respectful  thanks  to 
His  Excellency  the  Viceroy'  for  his  statesmanlike  pronouncement  of 
the  policy  of  the  Government  of  India  on  the  South  African 
question. 

(d)  That  this  Congress  requests  the  Imperial  and  Indian 
Governments  to  take  the  steps  needed  to  redress  the  grievances 
relating  to  the  questions  of  the  £H  tax,  indentured  labour,  domicile, 
the  Educational  test,  validity  of  Indian  Marriages  and  other 
questions  bearing  on  the  status  of  Indians  in  South  Africa. 

(e)  That  this  Congress  expresses  its  warm  and  grateful 
ajapreciation  of  the  hei-oic  struggle  carried  on  by  Mr.  Gandhi  and 
his  co-workers,  and  calls  upon  the  people  of  this  country  of  all 
classes  and  ci'eeds  to  continue  to  sitpply  them  with  funds. 

Canada 
VI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  strongly  protests  against 
I3rohibition  of  immigration,  resulting  from  the  operation  of  the 
Canadian  Privy  Council  Order  No.  920,  generally  known  as  the 
"  Continuous  .lournej'  Clause, "  as  the  order  in  question  has 
practically  the  effect  of  preventing  any  Indian,  not  already  settled 
there,  froni  going  to  Canada,  inasmuch  as  there  is  no  direct 
steamship  serv'ice  between  the  two  Countries,  and  the  Steamship 
Companies  refuse  through  booking,  and  further  subjects  the  present 
Indian  Settlers  in  Canada  to  great  hardship  by  precluding  them 
from  bringing  over  their  wives  and  children.  This  Congress,  there- 
fore, urges  upon  the  Imperial  Government  the  necessity  of  secur- 
ing the  repeal  of  the  said  Continuous  Journey  Regulation. 

Legal 

Separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive  Functions 

III.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  concurring  with  previous 
Congresses,  urges  the  early  Separation  of  Judicial  from  Executive 
Functions  in  the  best  interests  of  the  Empire  and  prays  that  any 
scheme  of  Separation  that  may  be  undertaken  to  be  really  effective 
must  place  all  judiciary  solely  under  the  control  of  the  highest 
Court  in  every  Province. 

Higlt    Courts 

XII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  strongly  of  opinion  that 
all  the  High  Courts  of  India,  inclusive  of  non-chartered  High 
Courts,  should  have  the  same  direct  relation  with  the  Government 
of  India  alone,  as   the  High  Court  of  Fort  William  in  Bengal  has  at 


564  HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

the  present  time.  The  Congress  is,  further,  of  opinion  that  the 
Cliief  Judge  of  unchartered  High  Courts  should  be  appointed 
from  the  members  of  the  bar. 

[See  VII  c,  3.] 

Union  for  Self-Government  of  Congress  and  Muslim 
League 

IV.  Eesolved — That  this  Congress  places  on  record  its  warm 
appreciation  of  the  adoption  by  the  All-India  Muslim  League  of  the 
ideal  of  Self-Government  for  India  within  the  British  Empire,  and 
exjaresses  its  complete  accord  with  the  belief  that  the  League  has 
so  emphatically  declared  at  its  last  sessions  that  the  political  future 
of  the  countx-y  depends  on  the  harmonious  working  and  co-operation 
of  the  varioiis  Communities  in  the  country  which  has  been  the 
chei-ished  ideal  of  the  Congress.  This  Congress  most  heartily 
welcomes  the  hojae  expressed  by  the  League  that  the  leaders  of  the 
di&'erent  communities  will  make  every  endeavour  to  find  a  modus 
operandi  for  joint  and  concerted  action  on  all  questions  of  national 
good  and  earnestly  appeals  to  all  the  sections  of  the  people  to  help 
the  object  we  all  have  at  heart. 

India  Council  Reform 

V.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  of  opinion  that  the  Council 
of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  as  at  present  constituted,  should 
be  abolished,  and  makes  the  following  suggestions  for  its  reconstruc- 
tion : 

(a)  That  the  salary  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India 
should  be  placed  on  the  English  Estimates. 

(6)  That,  with  a  view  to  the  efficiency  and  independence  of 
the  Council,  it  is  expedient  that  it  should  be  partly  nominated  and 
partly  elected. 

(c)  That  the  total  nximber  of  members  of  the  Council  should 
not  be  less  than  nine. 

{d)  That  the  elected  portion  of  the  Council  should  consist  of 
not  less  than  one-tliird  of  the  total  number  of  mcjmbers,  who 
should  be  non-oificial  Indians  chosen  by  a  constituency  consisting 
of  the  elected  members  of  the  Imperial  and  Pro\  incial  Legislative 
Councils. 

(e)  That  not  less  than  one-half  of  the  nominated  portion  of 
the  Conncil  should  consist  of  public  men  of  merit  and  ability  uncon- 
nected with  the  Indian  administration. 

(/)  That  the  remaining  portion  of  the  nominated  Council 
should  consist  of  officials  who  have  served  in  India  for  not  less  than 


THE    TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS  565 

10    years   and    have   not    been   away  from  India  for  more  than  two 
years. 

(g)  That  the  character  of  the  Council  shouUl  be  advisory 
and  not  administrative. 

(h)  That  the  term  t)f  office  of  each  member  should  be 
five  years. 

Public  Service 

VII.  Resolved — (a)  That  this  Congress  places  on  record  its 
indignant  protest  against,  and  emphatically  repudiates,  as  utterly 
unfounded,  the  charges  of  general  incompetence,  lack  of  initiative, 
lack  of  character,  etc.,  whicli  some  of  the  witnesses,  among  whom 
this  Congress  notices  with  regret  some  of  the  highest  administrative 
officers,  have  freely  levelled  at  Indians  as  a  people. 

(h)  That  this  Congress  begs  to  express  its  earnest  hope  that 
the  Royal  Commissioners  will,  alike  on  grounds  of  justice,  national 
progress,  economj^^  efficienc}'  and  even  e.xpediency,  see  fit  to  make 
recommendations  which  will  have  the  certain  effect  of  largely 
increasing  the  present  very  inadequate  proportion  of  Indians  in  the 
high  appointments  in  the  Public  Services  of  their  own  country  ; 
thus  redeeming  the  solemn  pledge  contained  in  the  Charter  Act  of 
1838  and  the  Royal  Proclamation  of  1858. 

(c)  In  particular,  this  Congress  places  on  record  its  deep 
conviction  : 

(1)  that  justice  can  never  be  done  to  the  claim  of  the 
people  of  this  country  unless  the  examinations  for  the  recruitment 
of  the  superior  oflEices  of  the  various  Services  be  held  in  India  at) 
well  as  in  England  ; 

(2)  that  the  age  limit  in  the  case  of  candidates  for  the 
Indian  Civil  Service  should  not  be  lowered,  as  such  a  step  will 
operate  to  the  disadvantage  of  Indian  candidates  as  well  as  prove 
detrimental  to  efficiency ; 

(3)  that  the  Judicial  and  Executive  Services  and  Functions 
should  be  completely  separated  and  the  Judicial  Service  recruited 
from  the  legal  profession  and  placed  in  subordination  to  the  High 
Court  instead  of  to  the  Executive  Govermnent; 

(4)  that  such  restrictions  as  exist  at  2^i'esent  against  the 
appointment  of  persons  other  than  members  of  the  Indian  Civil 
Service  to  certain  high  offices  be  removed  ; 

(5)  that  any  rule  or  order  which,  in  terms  or  in  effect, 
operates  as  a  bar  against  the  appointment  of  an  Indian  as  such  to 
any  office  under  the  Crown  for  which  he  may  othomvise  be  eligible, 
should  be  rescinded  as  opposed  to  the  Act  and  the  Proclamation 
hereinbefore  mentioned ; 


566  HOW  rnciA  wrought  for  freedom 

(6)  that  the  division  of  Services  into  Imperial  and 
Provincial  be  abolished  and  the  conditions  of  Services  be  equalised 
as  between  Indians  and  Europeans,  and  that  in  case  the  division 
be  maintained,  the  recruitment  of  the  Executive  branch  of  the 
Provincial  Civil  Service  be  made  by  means  of  an  open  competitive 
examination  instead  of  hj  nomination  ; 

(7)  that  in  case  the  said  division  be  maintained,  the 
Indian  Educational  and  other  Services  be  recruited  in  India  as  well 
as  England,  and  Indians  of  the  requisite  attainments  be  appointed 
thereto  both  directly  and  by  promotion  from  the  respective 
Provincial  Services  ; 

(8)  that  civil  medical  posts  should  not  be  tilled  by  the 
appointment  of  members  of  the  Military  I. M.S.  or  I.S.M.D.,  and  a 
distinct  and  sejiarate  Indian  Civil  Medical  Service  should  be 
constituted  tlierefor  and  recruited  by  means  of  a  competitive 
examination  held  in  India  as  well  as  England ;  educational  and 
scientific  appointments,  however,  being  filled  by  advertisement  in 
India  and  abroad  ; 

(9)  that  the  present  scale  of  salaries  is  siiificiently  high 
and  should  not  be  raised,  and  further,  that  exchange  compensation 
allowance  should  be  abolished,  as  it  has  been  a  costly  anomaly 
since  exchange  was  fixed  by  statute  ;  and 

(10)  that  the  people  of  those  dominions  of  the  Crown, 
where  they  are  not  accorded  the  rights  of  British  citizens,  should 
be  declared  ineligible  for  appointments  in  India. 

Coercion 

Pre^a 

VIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  reiterates  its  protest 
against  the  continuation  of  the  Indian  Press  Act  on  the  Statute 
Book,  and  urges  that  the  same  be  repealed,  specially,  in  view  of 
the  rycent  decision  of  the  High  Court  of  Calcutta,  which  declares 
that  the  safeguards  provided  by  the  Act  arc  illusoiy  and  incapable 
of  being  enforced. 

Permanent  Settlement 

IX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  strongly  of  opinion  that 
a  reasonable  and  definite  limitation  to  the  demand  of  the  State  on 
land  and  the  introduction  of  a  Permanent  Settlement  directly  be- 
tween Government  and  land-holders  in  ryotwari-areas,  or  a  settle- 
ment for  a  period  of  not  less  than  60  years  in  those  Provinces  where 
shorter  periodical  settlements  on  revision  prevail  will  substantially 
help  in  ameliorating  the  present  unsatisfactory  condition  of  the 
Agricultural  poimlation. 


THE    TWENTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS  567 

Military 

X.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  again  respectfully  points 
out  to  the  Government  of  India  the  injustice  of  keeping  the  higher 
ranks  in  the  Army  closed  against  the  people  of  this  country,  and 
urges  that  the  same  should  remain  no  longer  unredressed. 

[And  see  VII  c,  8.] 

Education 

XI.  Eesolved — (a)  That  this  Congress,  while  thanking  the 
Government  of  India  for  its  donation  of  larger  grants  towards  the 
extention  of  Primary  Education  in  India,  is  strongly  of  opiuion  that  a 
beginning  should  now  be  made  for  introducing  Free  and  Compalsory 
Education  in  some  selected  areas. 

(b)  That  the  Congress,  while  approving  of  the  proposals  by 
Government  for  introducing  teaching  and  residential  Universities, 
is  strongly  of  opinion  that  that  system  should  svipplement,  and  not 
rejalace,  the  existing  system  of  University  Education,  as  otherwise 
the  progress  of  Higher  Education  among  the  poorer  classes  will  be 
seriously  retarded. 

(f)  That  this  Congress  reiterates  its  prayer  to  Government  to 
make  adequate  provision  for  iuipartiug  Industrial  and  Technical 
Education  in  the  different  Provinces,  having  regard  to  local  require- 
ments. 

(d)  That  this  Congress  records  its  strong  protest  against 
the  action  of  the  Government  of  India  vetoing  the  selection  by 
the  Calcutta  University  of  Messrs.  Rasul,  Suhravardi  and  Jayaswal, 
as  lecturers,  on  the  ground  of  their  connection  with  politics ;  as  the 
bar  of  politics  is  so  general  as  to  lend  itself  to  arbitrary  exclusion 
of  the  best  scholarship  from  the  lectnrer's  chair,  so  detrimental  to 
the  interests  of  Education  in  the  country. 

Swadeshi 

XIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  accords  its  most  cordial 
support  to  the  Swadeshi  Movement,  and  calls  upon  the  people  of 
India  to  labour  for  its  success,  by  making  earnest  [and  sustained 
efforts  to  promote  the  growth  of  indigenous  industries,  by  giving 
preference,  wherever  practicable,  to  Indian  jiroducts  over  imported 
commodities,  even  at  a  sacrifice. 

Indentured  Labour 

XIV.  Resolved — That  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  labour  in 
India,  and  the  grave  results  from  the  system  of  Indentured  Labour, 
which    reduces  the   labourers,  during  the  period  of  their  indenture, 


568  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FRBKUOM 

practically  to  the  position  of  slaves,  this  Congress  strongly  urges 
the  total  prohibition  of  recruitment  of  labour  under  indenture, 
either  for  work  in  India  or  elsewhere. 

Bepresentation 

XV.  Resoh^ed — That  this  Congress  expx-esses  its  regret  that 
the  recommendations  of  the  Decentralisation  Commission,  with 
regard  to  the  further  develoiDment  of  Local  Self-Govemment,  have 
not  yet  been  given  effect  to,  and  urges  that  the  Government  of 
India  may  be  pleased  to  take  stejjs,  without  delay,  to  increase  the 
powers  and  resoiirces  of  Local  Bodies. 

XVI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  records  its  sense  of 
keen  disappointment  that  at  the  last  revision  of  the  Legislative 
Council  Regulations,  the  anomalies  and  inequalities,  rectification  of 
which  the  four  previous  Congresses  strongly  urged  upon  the 
Government,  were  not  removed.  And  in  order  to  allay  the 
widesj^read  dissatisfaction  caused  by  the  defects  complained  of, 
and  in  view  of  the  experience  of  the  last  four  years,  this  Congress 
earnestly  prays  that — (1)  there  should  be  a  non-official  majority  in 
the  Imperial  Legislative  Council ;  (2)  there  should  be  a  majority 
of  elected  members  in  all  Provincial  Councils  ;  (3)  the  system  of 
voting  by  delegates  be  done  away  with,  where  it  still  exists  ;  (4) 
the  franchise  be  broadened  by  simplifying  the  qualifications  of 
electors,  basing  it  on  education,  property  or  income  ;  (5)  the 
Government  should  not  have  the  power  arbitrarily  to  declare  any 
person  ineligible  for  election  on  the  ground  of  his  antecedents  or 
reputation  ;  (6)  uo  person  should  be  held  ineligible  for  election  on 
the  ground  of  dismissal  from  Government  Sei'vice,  or  of  conviction 
in  a  criminal  court,  or  from  whom  security  for  keejiing  the  peace 
has  been  taken,  unless  his  conduct  has  involved  moral  turpitude  ; 
(7)  no  projierty  or  residential  qiialification  should  be  required  of  a 
candidate,  nor  service  as  member  of  a  Local  Body ;  (8)  a  person 
ignorant  of  English  should  be  held  ineligible  for  membership  ;  (9) 
it  should  be  expressly  laid  down  that  officials  should  not  be  allowed 
to  influence  elections  in  any  way;  (10)  Finance  Committees  of 
Provincial  Coimcils  should  be  more  closely  associated  with  Govern- 
ment in  the  prejjaration  of  the  Annual  Financial  Statements;  (11) 
there  shouJd  be  a  Finance  Committee  of  the  Imperial  Legislative 
Council  as  in  the  case  of  Provincial  Legislative  Councils  ;  (12)  the 
right  of  putting  supplementary  questions  should  be  extended  to  all 
members  and  not  be  restricted  to  the  member  putting  the  original 
(piestion  :  (13)  tlie  strength  of  the  Panjab  Council  be  raised  fi'om 
26  to  50,  and  more  adequate  representation  be  allowed  to  the  Panjab 
in  the  Imperial  Council. 

And  further,  this  Congress,  while  recognising  the  necessity  of 
providing  for  a  fair  nnd  adequate  representation  in  the  Legislative 
Councils  for  the  Muhammadans'or  the  other  communities  where  they 


THE    TWE>fTY-EIGHTH    CONGRESS  569 

are    in    a    minority,    disapproves  of  the  present  regulations  to  carry 
out  this  object  by  means  of  separate  electorates. 

XVII.  Resolved — That  the  Congress  again  urges  that  an 
Executive  Council,  with  an  Indian  member,  be  established  in  the 
United  Provinces  at  an  early  date,  and  is  of  opinion,  that  a  sinular 
Council  should  be  established  in  the  Panjab  too. 

Deputation  to  England 

XVIII.  Resolved — That  the  All-India  Congress  Committee  be 
authorised  to  arrange  for  a  Depxitation  consisting,  as  far  as 
possible,  of  representatives  from  different  Provinces,  to  England,  to 
represent  Indian  views  on  the  following  subjects: 

(1)  Indians  in  South  Africa  and  other  Colonies  ; 

(2)  Press  Act ; 

(3)  Reform  of  the  India  Council  ; 

(-4)   Separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive  Functions; 
(5)  And  important  questions  on  which  Congress  has  e.xjiress- 
ed  opinion. 

Thanks  of  Congress 

XIX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  records  its  sense  of  high 
appreciation  of  the  services  of  Sir  William  Wedderburn  and  other 
members  of  the  British  Committee,  and  resolves  that  the 
organisation  of  the  British  Committee  and  India  should  be 
maintained. 

[See  II  c,  XI  a,  XX.] 

Retirement  of  General  Secretaries 

XX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  expresses  its  sense  of 
deep  regret  at  the  retirement  of  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha  and  Mr.  D.  A. 
Khare,  from  the  office  of  its  General  Secretaries,  and  begs  to  place 
on  record  its  sense  of  warm  appreciation  of  the  very  signal  and 
distinguished  Services  rendered  by  the  former  for  IS  years,  and  the 
latter  for  6  yeai's,  to  the  cause  of  the    Congress. 

Formal 

XXI.  Resolved— That  the  Hon.  Nawab  Syed  Muhammad 
Bahadm-  and  Mr.  N.  Subba  Rao  Pantulu  be  appointed  General 
Secretaries  for  the  next  year. 

XXIJ.  Resolved — That  the  Congress  of  the  year  1 914  be  held 
in  the  Province  of  Madras. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

The  Twenty-ninth  National  Congress  met  in  Madras 
on  the  28th,  29th,  and  80th  December,  1914.  The 
Pavilion  was  erected  in  the  grounds  of  Doveton  House, 
Nungambaukam,  and,  draped  in  white,  with  flower- 
wreathed  pillars  and  decorated  with  many  flags,  the 
portraits  of  their  Imperial  Majesties  and  the  Royal 
Arms,  the  whole  appearance  was  light  and  graceful. 
The  delegates  rose  to  the  number  of  866,  the  largest 
number  that  had  assembled  since  1907.  They  were 
grouped  as  follows  : 


Madras 

...     748 

Bombay  and  Sindh  ... 

...       54 

Bengal 

...       38 

U.  P 

...       12 

Berar  ... 

5 

C.  P 

2 

Behar 

5 

Panjab 

0 

Burma 

2 

866 


The  Reception  Committee  was  a  very  large  one, 
355  in  number,  and  the  arrangements  made  by  them 
were  very  satisfactory. 


THE    TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS  57 1 

The   platform  was  very  crowded   with  ail  the  nota- 
bilities  of  Madras   when  the   President-elect  came  in, 
in  procession,  escorted  to  the  Pavilion  door  by  a  guard 
of   Congress  A^olunteers    on    cycles.     He  was   accom- 
panied  by    many    of   the   Congress   leaders    and  the 
six  Secretaries  of  the  Reception  Committee,   and   was 
received  by  Sir  S.  Subramania  Iyer,  the   Chairman  of 
the   Reception  Committee.    He  said    a  few   words  of 
welcome,  and   then   gave   his   speech   to  be  read  by 
Mr.  K.  N.  lyah  Iyer.     Instead  of  reviewing  the  ques- 
tions which  the  Congress  was  to  discuss,  the  Chairman 
took    up    certain    points    of    wide     importance.      He 
urged    the    desirability    of    winning   the  co-operation 
of    the    landed    aristocracy,    who    ought   not  to   hold 
themselves  aloof  from  the  National   work,  sharing   as 
they  did    the    advantages    resulting     from  it.     Next, 
attention    should    be    given    to    the    improvement    of 
the    village    life,    the    organic  unit    of    administra- 
tion ;      there     should      be    a     network     of      village 
Panchayats,     as     under     the     Chola     dynasty,    yet 
nothing    had  been    done   in   this  Presidency,   despite 
the    report    of  the   Decentralisation   Committee,   now 
five  years  old.    Loan  Societies  must  also  be  started,  to 
relieve   the   ryot  from    his    indebtedness,    while  there 
should  be  storage  facilitiesfor  grain, and  sufficient  fixity 
of  tenure.     Turning   to   the   Congress  the    Chairman 
protested   against   the   idea  that  it  should  come  to  an 
end,  for  it  was  the  centre  of  Indian  Nationality,  but 
its   work   should  continue  during  the  year,  and  funds 
should   be   raised  for  the  purpose.     Finally,  he  urged 
that  India  should  rise  to  the  full  height  of  her  spiritual 


572  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

stature,  sliould  abstain  from  the  greed  of  exploiting 
the  best  spots  of  earth  for  herself,  and  conquer  by 
love,  not  hate.  They  must  unite  and  unify,  despite 
tlie  prejudice  so  widely  shown  against  the  coloured 
race.  The  Sovereign  had  shown  deep  sympathy  with 
India,  and  an  abiding  care  for  her  welfare,  and  India 
must  prove  worthy  of  his  love,  sympathy  and  care. 

The  for  null  election  of  Mr.  Bhupendranath  Basu  as 
President  was  moved  by  Mr.  Surendranath  Banner ji, 
who  described  him  and  himself  as  lifelong  friends, 
comrades,  co-workers,  and  companions  in  arms.  He 
told  of  the  services  rendered  by  the  President-elect  in 
•  the  troublous  times  of  the  Partition,  and  warmly  wel- 
comed him  to  the  Chair.  The  Hon.  Nawab  Syed 
Muhammad  seconded,  speaking  of  the  useful  work 
Mr.  Basu  had  done  in  England.  The  motion  was 
supported  by  Bao  Bahadur  R.  N.  Mudholkar  and 
Mr.  Samarth,  and  carried  by  acclamation. 

The  President  spoke  of  the  difficulties  under  which 
the  Congress  met,  a  devastating  War,  in  which  Britain 
and  India  were  iighting  side  by  side  in  the  cause  of 
honour,  liberty  and  justice.  One  of  the  chief  functions 
of  the  Congress  was  to  act  as  His  Majesty's  Opposi- 
tion, and  that  could  not  be  effectively  discharged  at 
the  moment.  Britain  did  not  come  as  an  invader  to 
India,  but  gained  power  by  treaties  with  Princes  and 
People,  the  Princes  becoming  Allies,  and  the  People 
equal  subjects,  of  the  Crown,  under  solemn  Charters 
and  Statutes.  This  was  apt  to  be  forgotten.  He 
then  alluded  to  the  Deputation  to  England  and  the 
India  Council  Bill,  rejected   by  the  House  of  Lords, 


THE    TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS  573 

though  it  fell  short  of  Indian  expectations.  India 
wants  to  abolish  the  Council,  but  it  would  be  wise  to 
press  for  the  Reforms  advocated  in  the  Congress,  Also 
he  desired  to  see  constituted  a  Parliamentary  Commit- 
tee, which  might  be  kept  furnished  with  information 
on  Indian  affairs. 

The  Government  of  the  country  was  still  vested  in 
a  foreign  Civil  Service,  there  being  only  70  Indians 
out  of  a  cadre  of  1,400  men.  This  Service  remained 
while  all  the  higher  officers  came  and  went,  and  it  was 
responsible  to  no  one.  They  form  the  Executive 
Council  of  the  Viceroy,  save  for  one  Indian  member  ; 
the  India  Council,  save  for  two.  They  are  thus  their 
own  Court  of  Appeal.  Six  Governments  out  of  nine  are 
furnished  by  them  with  rulers.  All  the  great  Depart- 
ments of  State  are  under  their  control.  Thej^  would 
be  more  than  human  if  they  did  not  desire  to  remain 
as  they  are  : 

Against  this  state  of  things  we  have  a  people  rapidly 
awakening  to  self-consciousness  ;  thousands  of  our  boys 
are  receiving  education  on  western  lines  in  Indian  Uni- 
versities based  on  western  models  ;  hundreds  of  them  are 
daily  flocking  to  the  Universities  of  Europe,  America  and 
Japan,  and  on  their  return  home  spreading  the  knowledge 
that  they  have  acquired.  You  may  chain  Prometheus, 
but  the  fire  is  lighted  and  cannot  be  extinguished.  India 
wants  a  higher  life,  a  wider  sphere  of  aetivit}'  and  useful- 
ness. India  wants  that  her  Government  should  be  con- 
sistent with  her  growing  self-respect  and  intellectuality. 
India  wants  that  the  presumption  whirh  has  all  along 
existed,  and  which  the  Board  of  Directors  in  1833  made  a 
vain  attempt  to  dispel,  namely,  that  the  Indians  can  only 
rise  to  a  rertain  limit,  should  be  removed  from  the  precincts 
of   her   Court,   as   it  has  been  from  the  Statute  Book,  and 


574  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

the  door  to  her  Services  should  not  be  closed  by  artificial 
barriers  against  her  own  sons.  India  wants  that  her 
children  should  have  the  same  rights  of  equal  citizenship 
as  other  members  of  the  Empire.  India  wants  the  removal 
of  vexatious  hindrances  on  the  liberty  of  speech  and  free- 
dom of  the  Press,  fruitless  and  dangerous  alike  to  the 
Government  and  the  people.  And,  above  all,  India  wants 
that  her  Government  should  be  an  autonomous  Govern- 
ment under  the  Britisli  Empire.  Then  only  the  great 
benefits,  which  have  emanated  from  British  rule  and  which 
carry  with  them  the  memory  of  doles,  will  be  sweetened 
with  the  sweat  of  her  brow. 

The  President  declared  : 

The  Indian  Inireaucracy  do  not  offer  us  any  construc- 
tive programme  for  the  future  of  India,  no  land  of  promise 
to  her  children.  They  are  content  to  work  for  the  day 
and  take  no  thoug'ht  for  the  morrow.  An  autocratic 
Viceroy  or  Secretary  of  State  may  put  extra  steam  into 
the  machinery  of  the  Indian  Government,  or  try  to  shut 
the  safety-valve,  but  the  great  fly-wheel  is  not  easily 
disturbed.  And  the  bureaucracy  have  given  us  honest 
and  conscientious  workmen,  not  troubled,  it  may  be,  with 
the  visions  of  the  future,  but  they  have  reason  to  be  well 
pleased  with  their  work  :  they  have  given  us  internal 
peace  and  guarded  us  from  external  aggression  ;  the 
blessings  of  an  ordered  administration  are  apparent  on 
every  side.  Why  should  India  resent  ?  Her  Government 
has  always  been  that  of  one  man's  sway  whether  she  was 
an  Empire  or  broken  into  small  States  of  varying  dimen- 
sions. Why  should  she  object  to  the  Government  of  an 
outside  bureaucracy  ?  My  answer  is  :  the  days  of  the 
lotus-eater  are  gone,  the  world  is  swinging  onward  on  the 
uplifting  ropes  of  time,  and  in  Europe,  the  war  of  nations, 
now  in  progress,  will  knock  off  the  last  weights  of 
mediaeval  domination  of  one  man  over  many,  of  one  race 
over  anotlier  ;  it  is  not  possible  to  roll  back  the  tide  of 
wider  life  which  is  flowing  like  the  warm  Gulf  Stream 
throuo'h  the  gateways  of  the  West  into  the  still  waters  of 
the   PJast.     You  may  abolish  the  study  of  English  history 


THE    TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS  575 

and  draw  a  sponge  over  all  its  enthralling  story  of  free- 
dom ;  you  may  bar  Milton  and  Burke,  Mill  and  Spenser  ; 
you  may  bend  the  Indian  Universities  to  your  will  if  you 
like,  fetter  their  feet  with  obstructive  statutes,  but  you 
cannot  bar  the  imponderable  influences  of  an  expanding 
world.  If  English  rule  in  India  meant  the  canonisation 
of  a  bureaucracy,  if  it  meant  perpetual  domination  and 
perpetual  tutelage,  an  increasing  dead-weight  on  the  soul 
of  India,  it  would  be  a  curse  to  civilisation  and  a  blot  on 
humanity.  But  I  am  doing  injustice  to  a  large  body  of 
Civil  Servants  who  have  loyally  accepted  the  recent 
reforms  and  who  seek  to  remain  true  to  the  traditions  of 
Munro  and  Elphinstone. 

Separation  from  England  was  not  desirable^  and  none 
save  a  few  youths  desired  it.  Neither  subordination 
nor  separation  was  wanted,  but  "  a  joint  partnership 
on  equal  terms  ".  The  Constitution  for  India  should 
be  modelled  on  that  of  the  United  States  of  America  or 
the  Commonwealth  of  Australia,  modified  to  suit 
India^  and  with  a  representative  of  the  Crown  at  its 
head.     Some  special  changes  were  needed  : 

The  right  to  carry  arms,  the  right  to  bear  commis- 
sions in  the  Army,  and  lead  our  men  in  the  cause  of  the 
Empire,  the  right  to  form  volunteer  corps  in  the  defence 
of  hearth  and  home,  how  long  will  these  be  denied  to  the 
Indian  people  ?  How  long  will  India  toddle  on  her  feet, 
tied  to  the  apron  strings  of  England  ?  Time  it  is  that 
she  stood  on  her  legs  for  herself  as  well  as  for  England. 
What  could  be  more  humiliating  to  India  and  to  England 
alike,  if  England  were  obliged  in  the  hour  of  some  great 
danger,  as  Imperial  Rome  was  in  her  day,  to  leave  India 
unarmed  and  untrained  to  the  use  of  arms,  and,  as  her 
civil  population  is,  a  prey  to  internal  anarchy  and  external 
aggression  ?  What  commentary  would  it  be  on  150  years 
of  British  rule  in  India,  that  England  found  the  people 
strong  though  disunited  and  left  them  helpless  and 
emasculated  ?      And,   on   the   other  hand,   what  cf)uld  be 


576  HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

more  glorious  both  for  India  and  England  than  that 
India,  strong  in  her  men,  strong  in  her  faith,  should 
stand  side  by  side  with  England,  share  her  troubles  and 
her  dangers  and  be  joint  defenders  of  their  common 
heritage. 

How  different  would  England's  position  have  been 
to-day,  had  she  trusted  India.  She  would  have  had  a 
wall  of  men  against  which  Germany  would  have 
hurled  itself  in  vain.  England  is  now  pouring  out 
wealth  and  men  in  defence  of  her  plighted  word  to 
Belgium.  And  what  of  India  ?  India's  claim  "  is  not 
a  pra^^er,  but  a  call  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  India, 
enforced  by  the  moral  sense  of  mankind^  which^  if 
religions  are  not  mere  myths  and  their  teachings 
empty  shibboleths,  will  survive  the  clash  of  arms  and 
the  fate  of  Nations  ".     The  President  concluded  : 

Brother  delegates,  it  is  no  use  looking  backward  ;  no 
use  in  vain  regrets.  Let  us  be  ready  for  the  future,  and 
I  visualise  it.  I  see  my  country  occupying  an  honoured 
and  proud  place  in  the  comity  of  nations.  1  see  her  sons 
sitting'  in  the  Councils  of  our  great  Empire,  conscious  of 
their  strength,  and  bearing  its  burden  on  their  shoulders 
as  valued  and  trusted  comrades  and  friends,  and  I  see 
India,  rejuvenated  and  re-incarnate  in  the  glories  of  the 
future  broadened  by  the  halo  of  the  past.  What  does  it 
matter  if  a  solitary  raven  croak  from  the  sand  banks  of 
the  Jumna  and  the  Ganges  ?  I  hear  it  not,  my  ears  are 
filled  with  the  music  of  the  mighty  rivers,  flowing  into 
the  sea  scattering  the  message  of  the  future.  Brother 
delegates,  let  us  live  as  the  ancients  lived,  in  the  purity  of 
heart,  so  that  the  message  may  be  fulfilled  ;  let  us  forget 
the  narrow  barriers  of  man's  creation  :  let  us  be  humble 
and  forget  the  pride  of  self  ;  let  us  step  across  the  barriers 
of  prejudice;  let  us  always  be  with  our  hand  on  the 
plough,  preparing  the  soil  for  the  harvest  of  the  future  ; 
let   our  heart-strings  be  attuned  to  God  and  Country  and 


THE    TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS  577 

then  no  power  on  earth  can  resist  the  realisation  of  that 
message,  the  fulfilment  of  the  Destiny  that  is  ours.  And 
assembled  in  this  tabernacle  of  the  people,  let  us  pray 
to  Him,  who  knoweth  all  hearts,  to  grant  us  grace  and 
strength  that  we  may  deserve  and  bear  this  future  and 
this  destiny. 

The  Congress  then  adjourned,  after  cheering  to  the 
echo  a  speech  filled  with  the  new  life  throbbing 
through  India. 

On  the  second  day,  the  first  duty  was  to  move  from 
the  Chair  three  Resolutions  of  sorrow  :  I,  Condolence 
with  the  Viceroy  for  the  terrible  bereavements  he  had 
suffered  ;  II,  the  great  loss  to  the  country  in  the  death 
of  Gangaprasad  Varma,  the  staunch  worker  and  stain- 
less gentleman ;  III,  the  deaths  of  Mr.  Amberal 
Sakerlal  Desai  and  Mr.  Bishnupada  Chatterji,  both 
good  Congressmen.  The  Resolutions  were  passed  in 
silence,  the  audience  standing. 

Resolution  IV,  expressing  the  loyalty  of  the  Con- 
gress to  the  Throne  was  arranged  to  fit  in  with  the 
visit  to  the  Congress  of  H.  E.  the  Governor  of  Madras, 
who  was  greeted  by  the  rising  of  the  Congress 
and  hearty  applause.  It  was  the  first  visit  ever 
paid  by  the  Representative  of  the  Crown  to  the 
Congress. 

The  Resolution  was  moved  by  Mr.  Surendranath 
Bannerji,  who  eloquently  voiced  the  loyalty  of  India, 
it  being  a  fit  time  to  declare  it  when  the  Empire  was- 
engaged  in  War,  and  the  Congress  spoke  in  the  name 
of  the  Nation.  Dewan  Bahadur  L.  A.  Govinda- 
raghava  Aiyar  seconded,  and  spoke  of  the  ingrained 
loyalty  of  the  Hindu  heart  to  which  loyalty  was  part 
44 


578  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

of  religion.  Mr.  Mehta,  C.I.E.,  the  Hon.  Mr.  S.  B. 
Upasani,  Pandit  (lokarannath  Misra,  Mr.  Harikishan 
Sinha,  Mr.  N.  A.  Dravid,  Mr.  Gopaldas  Chamatmal, 
and  Mr.  M.  D.  Devadoss  further  voiced  the  same  idea, 
each  in  his  own  way  ;  the  Resolution  was  then  carried, 
and  H.  E.  the  Governor  left,  after  a  few  words  of 
thanks  from  the  President,  amid  the  loud  cheers  of 
the  audience. 

Mr.  A.  P  Patro,  who  had  begun  to  move  Resolu- 
tion Y,  on  the  despatch  of  the  Indian  Expeditionary 
Force,  a  minute  before  the  arrival  of  H.  E.  the 
Governor,  then  resumed  his  speech,  expressing 
the  pride  felt  by  Indians  in  the  recognition  of 
their  share  in  the  Empire  in  that  they  were 
called  to  its  defence.  Mr.  Jogendranath  Bose 
seconded,  Mr.  G.  K.  Gadgil,  Pandit  Iqbal  Narain 
Musaldan,  and  Mr.  1).  V.  Prakasa  Rao  supported,  and 
the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Rao  Bahadur  R.  N.  Mudholkar  moved  Resolution 
VI,  urging  the  Government  to  open  the  higher 
ranks  of  the  army  to  Indians,  to  establish 
Military  Schools  and  Colleges  and  to  allow  Indians 
to  volunteer.  This  had  been  urged  by  the  Congress 
from  its  beginning;  H.  R.  H.  the  Duke  of 
Connaught  had  urged  the  first  two  points ;  Lord 
Kitchener  was  said  to  have  been  in  favour  of 
admitting  Indians  as  far  as  majors,  and  it  was  thought 
that  the  King  would  have  announced  this  in  1911, 
Now  the  pressing  need  had  arisen.  For  over  80  years 
the  Statute  of  1833  had  remained  unfulfilled,  and  the 
pledge   of  the  Prochtmation  of  the  Queen  in  1858  was 


THE    TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESvS  579 

still  unredeemed.  There  was  no  legal  bar  to  Indians 
volunteering.  Some  of  his  friends  were  Volunteers. 
But  their  names  were  taken  off  the  list  in  1898,  with- 
out reason  given. 

Mr.  J.  Choudhuri  seconded,  and  urged  that  India 
was  surrounded  b}^  powerful  eastern  Nations,  and 
should  be  organised  for  self-defence.  Messrs.  Senathi 
E,aja,  K.  Venkata  Reddi,  R.  Y.  Gupta,  A.  C.  Partha- 
sarathi  Naidu,  all  supported,  and  the  Resolution  was 
carried. 

Resolution  VII,  asking  for  the  modificatiou  of  the 
Arms  Act,  was  moved  b}-  Mr.  A.  J-*.  Sen,  who  gave 
instances  of  the  hardships  suffered.  In  a  raid  upon 
a  house  in  Oudh,  two  members  of  the  household,  out 
of  seven,  were  killed.  There  were  10  armed  robbers, 
7  unarmed  persons.  In  another  case  a  "  Baron  of 
Oudh  "  had  his  licence  to  bear  arms  cancelled,  because 
he  refused  to  give  evidence  in  a  police  prosecution. 
Mr.  C.  P.  Ramaswami  Aiyar  seconded,  cpioting  Milton 
who  said  that  no  Nation  Avas  a  free  Nation  unless  its 
citizens  were  trained  to  the  use  of  arms.  Lord  Roberts 
said  that  a  man  was  not  fully  a  citizen,  if  he  was 
unable  "  to  defend  himself,  his  home  and  his  liberties  ". 
That  was  the  right  they  asked.  The  Rules  framed 
under  the  Act  made  galling  distinctions  of  race  and 
creed,  and  they  deprecated  such  distinctions.  It 
was  the  duty  of  England  to  grant  their  demand. 
The  periodical  renewals,  "  which  operate  as  galling 
reminders  of  the  servitude  of  the  people,  should  be 
removed  for  ever.  In  fine,  we  ask  that  we  should  be 
treated   as    self-respecting  citizens  of  the  Em])ire,  and 


580  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

be  given  oppoi-tunities  of  developing  to  the  best 
advantage  the  manhood  in  us." 

Mr.  Krishnadas  Rai  laid  stress  on  the  ravages  of  wild 
animals,  the  destruction  of  valuable  crops,  and  the 
consequent  running  of  large  tracts  of  land  to  waste. 
Dacoits  were  becoming  numerous  because  they  knew 
whole  villages  were  unarmed  and  they  could  plunder 
at  pleasure.  Bomb-throwers  and  dacoits  had  their 
way  ;  the  police  could  not  defend  the  people,  and  the 
people  were  not  allowed  to  defend  themselves.  While 
the  English  papers  talked  of  Indian  loyalty,  the 
magistrates  here  were  busy  in  confiscating,  on  technical 
grounds,  the  feAV  licensed  guns  possessed.  Mr.  S.  Soma- 
sundaram  Pillai  supported  and  the  Resolution  was 
carried. 

Resolution  VIII  defined  what  was  meant  by 
"  Reciprocity  "  between  India  and  the  Colonies,  and 
was  moved  by  Mrs.  Annie  Besant.  She  said  Confucius 
advised  people  to  recompense  evil  with  justice,  and 
justice  lay  behind  reciprocity.  There  had  been  talk 
of  a  reward  due  to  India's  loyalty,  l)ut  "  India  does  not 
chaffer  with  the  blood  of  her  sons  and  the  proud  tears 
of  her  daughters  in  exchange  for  so  much  liberty, 
so  much  right.  India  claims  the  right,  as  a  Nation,  to 
justice  among  the  Peoples  of  the  Empire.  India  asked 
for  this  before  the  AVar.  India  asks  for  it  during 
the  War.  India  will  ask  for  it  after  the  War,  but 
not  as  a  reward  but  as  a  7'ight  does  she  ask  for  it. 
On  that  there  must  be  no  mistake."  She  then  asked 
them  not  to  try  to  limit  the  right  of  the  Colonies  to 
be  masters  in  their  own  lujuses,  for  Tndia    would  have 


THE    TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS  581 

that  same  right  soon.  Whatever  rule  a  Colony  made 
as  to  the  entry  of  Indians,  that  rule  should  India 
make  as  to  the  entry  into  India  of  people  of  that 
Colony.  Again,  India  might  exclude  imports  where 
her  people  were  excluded.  Imports  from  Australia 
to  Madras  were  as  much  in  a  year  as  Rs.  18,40,000. 
After  saying  that  the  indenture  system  must  be 
stopped,  she  concluded  :  "  India  is  growing  in  the 
sense  of  her  own  dignity.  She  is  not  content  to 
be  any  longer  a  child  in  the  nursery  of  the  Empire. 
.  .  .  She  is  showing  the  responsibility  of  the  man  in 
Europe.  Give  her  the  freedom  of  the  man  in  India." 
The  Hon.  Mr.  P.  Kesava  Pillai  seconded  in  a  few 
sentences,  pointing  out  that  as  long  as  Indians  were 
treated  as  inferiors  in  their  own  country,  the  Colo- 
nists would  not  treat  them  as  equals.  Mr.  Hridayanath 
Kunzru  dealt  with  the  Canadian  difficulties.  If  the 
Indian  Government  would  notify  that  aliens  in  India 
will  be  treated  as  Indians  are  treated  abroad,  that 
would  exercise  a  wholesome  influence  on  them. 

The  Resolution  was  put  and  carried,  and  the  Con- 
gress adjourned. 

On  the  third  day.  Resolution  IX,  on  the  Protec- 
tion of  Indian  Industries,  was  moved  by  the  Hon. 
Mr.  K.  R.  Y.  Krishna  Rao.  He  urged  that  the  State 
ought  to  help  Home  Industries,  but  that  nothing  could 
be  done  unless  the  Governments  were  allowed  to 
regulate  their  own  tariffs.  Prof.  V.  G.  Kale  seconded, 
and  urged  that  poverty  could  only  be  removed  by 
industrial  advancement,  and  that  needed  the  direct 
assistance     of     the     State.       Mr.    J.    C.    Chakravarti 


582  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

supported,  and  said  the  War  had  shown  our  utter  help- 
lessness in  the  industrial  world.  Mr.  G.  K.  Devadar 
ui'ged  industrial  autonomy,  so  as  not  to  be  so 
dependent  on  other  countries.  Mr.  S.  K.  Nair  further 
supported,  and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji  moved  Resolution  X, 
claiming  Self-Grovernment  for  India,  in  a  long  and 
eloquent  speech.  India  took  her  stand  on  the  Proclama- 
tion of  1858,  and  called  on  the  (lovernment  to  give 
effect  to  the  Despatch  of  25th  August,  1911,  until 
"  India  would  consist  of  a  number  of  administrations, 
autonomous  in  all  provincial  affairs,  with  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  above  them,  and  possessing  powers  to 
interfere  in  case  of  mis-Government  ".  Mr.  Bannerji 
quoted  a  letter  from  the  Chairman  of  an  English 
organisation  for  the  introduction  of  a  federal  system 
of  Government,  in  which  he  asked  "  India  to  organise 
her  strength  for  this  movement,  and  educate  her 
public  both  in  India,  and  all  parts  of  the  world ". 
The  speaker  urged  his  audience  to  "  formulate  your 
scheme,  press  it  u])()n  the  attention  of  the  British 
public,  and  I  am  confident  that  your  appeal  will  not 
fall  upon  needless  ears  ". 

Mr.  Sadhu  Ganapathi  formally  seconded,  Mrs.  Annie 
Besant  supported,  urging  the  younger,  "  who  will  be 
part  of  the  Self-Governing  Nation,"  to  practise  the 
science  and  art  of  Government  in  the  Local  Bodies, 
however  crippled  they  might  be  by  officials,  'i'he 
drudgery  of  learning  local  administration  prepared 
a  man  for  wider  power.  Prcjvincial  autonomy  was 
a     step     to    complete     Sclf-Ciovernmant.       She    then 


THE    TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS  583 

vindicated  India's  worthiness  of  freedom,  and  asked 
Congress  to  formulate  a  definite  scheme  of  Self- 
Government,  to  present  to  England  after  the  War. 

Mr.  Suweshchandra  Bose  supported,  and  urged 
that  India  could  be  a  pillar  of  strength  to  England, 
and  after  the  War  she  shovild  press  her  claim  to 
tSelf-Government. 

Resolution  XI,  on  India  Council  Reform,  was 
moved  by  Mr.  A.  S.  Krishna  Rao,  seconded  by 
Mr.  K.  M.  Choudhuri,  supported  by  Mr.  P.  C.  Mitra, 
and  cairied. 

Mr.  G.  A.  Natesan  moved  Resolution  XII  rejoicing 
over  the  partial  settlement  of  the  South  AfricarK 
troubles,  but  he  pointed  out  that  the  question  was  not 
really  solved.  Mr.  S.  Prasad  Basu  seconded,  Messrs. 
Lakshminarasimha  and  Ramalcantam  Malaviya  sup- 
ported, and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  XIII,  asking  for  the  total  Prohibition  of 
Indentured  Labour,  was  moved  by  Mr.  F.  G.  Natesan, 
in  an  impassioned  speech,  seconded  by  Mr.  Totaram 
Senadhya  from  the  Fiji  Islands  and  carried. 

The   President  then  put  from  the  Chair  Resolution 

XIV,  Separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive  Functions  ; 

XV,  Swadeshi;  XVI,  Press  Act;  XVII,  Permanent 
Settlement;  XVIII,  Separate  Electorates;  XIX, 
sending  a  message  of  greeting  to  Indian  troops; 
XX,  asking  for  an  extension  of  Lord  Hardinge's 
term  of  Ofhce ;  XXI,  Reference  to  a  Committee  of 
two  amendments  to  Article  XX  of  the  Consti- 
tution; XXII,  Thanks  to  Sir  William  Wedderburn 
and    the    British    Committea;  XXIII,    re-election   of 


584  HOW    INDIA    WRODGRT    FOR    IREEDOM 

Nawab  Sahab  Syed  Muhammad  and  Mr,  N.  Subba 
E-ao  as  General  Secretaries. 

Resolution  XXIV  thanked  the  Deputation  which 
went  to  London  for  its  good  work.  The  Deputation 
consisted  of  Messrs.  Bhupendranath  Basu,  M.  A. 
Jinnah,  N.  M.  Samarth,  S.  Sinha,  Mazaral  Haq,  the 
Hon.  Mr.  B.  N.  Sarma  and  Lala  Lajpat  Eai.  The 
Hon.  Mr,  K.  Chidambaranadha  Mudaliar  seconded 
the  Resolution,  and  it  was  carried. 

Resolution  XXV  approved  the  All-India  Committee 
for  the  ensuing  year.  Resolution  XXVI  accepted  the 
invitation  to  Bombay  for  the  next  Congress,  offered 
by  Sir  Vitaldas  Damodar  Thi-ickersay, 

Mr.  S.  Srinivasa  Iyengar  then  moved  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  the  President,  and  it  was  carried  with  great 
enthusiasm.  The  President  made  an  earnest  and 
•g-raceful  speech  in  answer,  and  the  Twenty-ninth 
J^ational  Congress  dissolved. 

RESOLUTIONS 
Grief  of  the  Congress 

1.  Resolved — ^This  Congress  desires  to  express  its  heart-felt 
and  respectful  sympathy  with  H,  E,  Lord  Hardinge  in  the 
bereavements  he  has  sustained  by  the  death  of  his  wife  and  of  his 
eldest  son.  All  India  mourns  with  His  Excellency  in  his  great 
sorrow. 

IT.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  place  on  rec^ord 
its  sense  of  the  profound  sen-row  and  irreparable  loss  the  country 
has  sustained  by  the  untimely  death  of  Babu  Ganga  Prasad 
Varmawho  was  a  devoted  worker  in  the  cause  of  the  Congress  from 
its  earliest  days,  and  whose  memory  will  be  cherished  with 
grateful  affection  by  liis  friends  and  colh!agues  and  by  his 
coiuitrymon  at  large  for  his  many  distinguished  services. 

III.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  express  its  dec]! 
sorrow   for  the    death    of  Mr.  Ambei'al  Sakerlal  Desai,  and  of  Babu 


THE    TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS  585 

Bishnu  Pada  Chatterji  of  Bengal,  who  were  devoted  and  distin- 
guished workers  in  the  Congress  cause,  and  who  rendered  it 
vahiable  service. 

Loyalty  to  the  Throne 

IV.  Resolved— (o)  That  this  Congress  desires  to  convey  to 
His  Majesty  the  King-Emperor  and  the  people  of  England  its 
profound  devotion  to  the  Throne,  its  unswerving  allegiance  to  the 
British  connection,  and  its  iirm  resolve  to  stand  by  the  Empire,  at 
all  hazards  and  at  all  costs. 

(b)  That  this  Congress  places  on  record  the  deep  sense  of 
gratitude  and  the  enthusiasm  which  the  Royal  Message,  addressed 
to  the  Princes  and  Peoples  of  India  at  the  beginning  of  the  War,  has 
evoked  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  country,  and  which 
strikingly  illustrates  His  Majesty's  solicitude  and  sympathy  for 
them,  and  strengthens  the  bond  which  unites  the  Princes  and 
Peoples  of  India  to  His  Royal  House  and  the  person  of  His  Gracious 
Majesty. 

Military 

Thf  Indian  Expeditionary  Force 

V.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  notes  with  gratitude  and 
satisfaction  the  despatch  of  the  Indian  Expeditionary  Force 
to  the  theatre  of  war,  and  begs  to  offer  to  H.  E.  the  Viceroy 
its  most  heart-felt  thanks  for  affording  to  the  people  of  India  an 
opportunity  of  showing  that,  as  equal  subjects  of  His  Majesty,  they 
are  jjrepared  to  tight  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  the  people  of  other 
parts  of  the  Empire  in  defence  of  right  and  justice,  and  the  cause 
of  the  Empire. 

Military  Training  and  Volunteers 

VI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  urges  on  the  Government 
the  necessity,  wisdom,  and  justice,  of  throwing  open  the  higher  offices 
in  the  Army  to  Indians,  and  of  establishing  in  the  country  Military 
Schools  and  Colleges  where  they  may  be  trained  for  a  military  career 
as  officers  in  the  Indian  Army.  In  recognition  of  the  equal  rights 
of  citizenship  of  the  people  of  India  with  the  rest  of  the  Empire, 
and  in  view  of  their  proved  loyalty  so  unmistakably  and  spon- 
taneously manifested,  and  the  strongly  expressed  desire  of  all 
classes  and  grades,  to  bear  arms  in  the  service  of  the  Crown  and  of 
the  Empire,  this  Congress  urges  upon  the  Government  the  necessity 
of  re -organising  the  present  system  of  volunteering,  so  as  to  ena- 
ble the  people  of  this  country,  without  distinction  of  race  or  class, 
to  enlist  themselves  as  citizen-soldiers  of  the  Empire. 


•586  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Arms  Act 

VII.  Resolved — That  in  view  of  the  liardshijj  entailed  by  the 
Arms  Act  (XT  of  1878)  as  at  present  administered,  and  the  unmerit- 
ed slur  which  it  casts  upon  the  people  of  this  country,  this  Congress 
is  of  opinion  that  the  said  Act  and  the  rules  made  thereunder  should 
be  so  modified  that  all  restrictions  as  to  the  possession  and  bearing  of 
arms  shall  apply  equally  to  all  persons  residing  in  or  visiting  India ; 
that  all  licences  issued  under  the  rules  shall  be  granted  once  for 
all,  shall  operate  within  the  provincial  jurisdiction  within  which 
they  are  issued,  shall  be  revocable  only  on  proof  of  misuse,  and 
shall  not  require  yearly  or  half-yearly  renewals. 

Indian  Troops 

XIX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  rejoices  to  place  on  ■ 
record  its  deep  sense  of  gratification  and  pride  at  the  heroic  conduct 
of  the  Indian  Troops  whose  deeds  of  valour  and  conspicuous 
humanity  and  chivalry  in  the  Great  War,  are  winning  the  respect 
of  civilised  mankind  for  the  mother  country  and  resolves  to  send  a 
message  of  hearty  and  affectionate  gx'eetings  to  them  and  their 
comrades  in  arms,  with  fervent  prayers  for  their  well-being  and 
success. 

The  President  be  requested  to  cable  the  above  Resolution  to 
the  Indian  Troops,  through  the  proper  channels. 

Reciprocity 

VIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  begs  to  convey  to  H.  B. 
the  Viceroy  the  profound  gratitude  of  the  people  of  India  for  the 
sympathetic  manner  in  which  he  has  handled  the  questions  con- 
nected with  the  emigration  of  Indians  abroad,  and  while  welcoming 
H.  E.'s  suggestion  of  Reciprocity  as  the  underlying  basis  of  negotia- 
tions with  the  Colonies,  this  Congress  desires  to  record  its  conviction 
that  any  policy  of  Recipi-ocity  to  be  effective  and  acceptable  to  the 
people  of  India,  must  proceed  on  the  basis  that  the  Government  of 
India  should  possess  and  exercise  the  same  power  of  dealing  with 
the  Colonies  as  they  possess  and  exercise  with  regard  to  India. 

Industries 

IX.  Resolved — That  in  view  of  the  present  exceptional  cir- 
cumstances and  in  order  to  promote  the  material  prosperity  of  the 
country,  this  Congress  urges  that  immediate  measures  be  taken  by 
Government  to  organise  and  develop  Indian  Industries. 

Self-Government 

X.  Resolved — That  in  view  of  the  profound  and  avowed 
loyalty    that   the    people    of    India  have  manifested  in  the  present 


THE    TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS  587 

erisis  this  Congress  appeals  to  the  Government  to  deepen  and 
perpetuate  it,  and  make  it  an  enduring  and  valuable  asset  of  the 
Empire,  by  removing  all  invidious  distinctions  here,  and  abroad, 
between  His  Majesty's  Indian,  and  other  subjects,  by  redeeming 
the  pledges  of  Provincial  autonomy  contained  in  the  Despatch  of 
the  25th,  August  1911,  and  by  taking  such  measures  as  may  be 
necessary  for  the  recognition  of  India  as  a  component  part  of  a 
federated  Empire,  in  the  full  and  the  free  eujoyment  of  the  rights 
belonging  to  that  status. 

India  Council  Reform 

XI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  records  its  opinion  that  the 
Council  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India  should  be  abolished 
and  pending  its  abolition  makes  the  following  suggestions  for  the 
amendment  of  its  constitution. 

(«)  That  the  salary  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India  should 
be  placed  on  the  English  estimates. 

(6)  That,  with  a  view  to  the  efficiency  and  independence  of 
the  Council,  it  is  expedient  that  it  should  be  partly  nominated  and 
partly  elected. 

(c)  That  the  total  number  of  members  of  the  Council  should 
be  not  more  than   nine. 

(d)  That  the  elected  portion  of  the  Council  should  consist 
of  not  less  than  one-third  of  the  total  number  of  niembers,  who 
should  be  non-official  Indians,  chosen  by  a  constituency  consisting 
of  the  elected  members  of  the  Imperial  and  Provincial  Legislative 
Councils. 

(e)  That  the  election  of  Indians  to  the  Council  should  be 
direct,  and  not  of  a  panel  of  elected  members  as  proposed  in  Lord 
Crewe's  Bill. 

(/)  That  not  less  than  one-half  of  the  nominated  members  of 
the  Council  should  consist  of  public  men  unconnected  with  the 
Indian  Administration. 

{g)  That  the  remaining  portion  of  the  nominated  membei's  of 
the  Council  should  consist  of  officials  who  have  served  in  India  for 
not  less  that  ten  years  and  have  not  been  away  from  India  for  moi-e 
than  two  years. 

{h)  That  no  distinction  whatever  with  regard  to  salary  or 
allowance  should  be  made  between  the  Indian  members  and  their 
colleagues  in  the  Council. 

(j)  That  the  character  of  the  Council  should  be  purely  advisory 
as  heretofore  and  that  no  change  in  the  methods  and  procedure 
should  be  made  which  may  convert  or  tend  to  convert  it  in  any 
manner  whatsoever  into  an  administrative  body. 


055  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

This  Cciio;ress  regrets  the  summary  rejection  of  the  Council  of 
India  Bill  of  1914. 

South   Africa 

XII.  Resolved — (a)  That  this  Congress  begs  to  offer  to  H.  E. 
the  Viceroy,  its  respectful  thanks  for  the  noble  and  courageous 
stand  made  by  him  in  the  cause  of  our  people  in  S.Africa;  and, 
while  expressing  its  grateful  appreciation  of  the  efforts  of  the 
Government  of  India,  in  obtaining  relief  in  respect  of  some  of 
the  most  pressing  grievances  of  our  Indian  fellow  subjects  and  of 
the  firm  advocacy  in  the  cause  of  India  of  Sir  Benjamin  Robertson, 
this  Congress  begs  to  place  on  record  that  no  settlement  can  be 
wholly  satisfactory  or  be  deemed  final,  which  does  not  secure 
equality  of  treatment  between  His  Majesty's  Indian  and  other 
subjects  in  S.  Africa,  and  respectfully  urges  on  the  Government  of 
India  that  steps  may  be  taken  as  early  as  circumstances  will 
permit  to    bring    about  such  equality  of  treatment. 

(6)  That  this  Congress  places  on  record  its  warm  appreciation 
of,  and  admiration  for,  the  heroic  endeavours  of  Mr.  Gandhi  and  his 
followers,  and  their  unparalleled  sacrifice  in  their  struggle  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  self-respect  of  India  and  the  redress  of  Indian 
grievances. 

(c)  That  this  Congress  further  expresses  its  gratitude  to 
Messrs.  Pollak  and  Kallenbach  for  their  voluntary  sacrifice  and 
suffering  in  the  cause  of  India,  and  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Andrews  for  his 
help  under  circumstances  of  great  difficulty. 

(d)  And,  lastly,  that  this  Congress  records  its  appreciation  of 
the  invaluable  services  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Gokhale  throughout  the 
struggle  in  bringing  about  the  present  settlement. 

Indentured  Labour 

XIII.  Resolved — That  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  labour  in 
India  and  the  grave  consequences  resulting  from  the  system  of 
Indentured  Labour  which  reduces  the  labourers,  during  the  period  of 
their  indenture,  practically-  to  the  position  of  slaves,  this  Congress 
strongly  urges  the  total  yirohibition  of  recrviitment  of  labour  under 
indenture,  either  for  work  in  India  or  elsewhere. 

Legal 

XIV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress,  concurring  with  previous 
Congresses,  urges  the  early  separation  of  Judicial  and  Executive 
Functions  in  the  best  interests  of  tlie  Empire  and  pra_ys  that  any 
scheme  of  Separation  that  may  be  undertaken,  to  b(^  really  effective, 
must  plac(i  all  the  .ludiciary  solely  under  the  c(mtrol  of  the  highest 
Court  in  the  Pro\-ince. 


THE    TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS  589 

S-wadeshi 

XV.  Resolved — That  tliis  Congress  accords  its  most  cordial 
support  to  the  Swadeshi  Movement  and  calls  upon  the  people  of 
India  to  labour  for  its  success  by  ranking  earnest  and  sustained 
efforts  to  promote  the  growth  of  indigenous  industries,  by  giviuo- 
preference,  wherever  practicable,  to  Indian  products  over  imported 
commodities,  even  at  a  sacrifice. 

Coercion 

XVI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  reiterates  its  protest 
against  the  continuation  of  the  Indian  Press  Act  on  the  Statute 
Book  and  urges  that  the  same  be  repealed,  specially  in  view  of  the 
decision  of  the  Calcutta  High  Court  which  declares  that  the 
safeguards  provided  by  the  Act  are  illusoiy  and  incapable  of  beino" 
enforced. 

Permanent  Settlement 

XVII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  strongly  of  opinion 
that  a  reasonable  and  definite  limitation  to  the  demand  of  the 
State  on  land  and  the  introduction  of  a  Permanent  Settlement 
directly  between  the  Government  and  land-holders  in  ryotwari 
areas,  or  a  settlement  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  60  j'ears  in 
those  Provinces  where  shorter  periodical  settlements  on  revision 
prevail,  will  substantially  help  in  ameliorating  the  present  imsatis- 
factory  condition  of  the  agricultural  population. 

Representation 

Separate  Electorates 

XVIII.  Resolved — That  this  Congess  while  deprecating  the 
creation  of  Separate  Electorates  in  the  Imperial  and  Provincial 
Legislative  Councils  urges  on  the  Government  that  the  said  system 
should  not  in  any  case  be  extended  to  the  local  bodies,  as  it  will 
prove  injurious  to  the  development  of  national  iinity  and  the 
fostering  of  the  national  ideal. 

Extension   of   Lord   Hardinge's   Term   of  Office 

XX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  begs  to  place  on  record 
its  high  appreciation  of  the  services  rendered  to  India  by  H.  E. 
the  Viceroy  and  expresses  the  hope  that  his  tenure  of  tlie  office  may 
be  extended  for  such  time  as,  after  the  cessation  of  the  War,  may 
be  necessary  for  a  proper  settlement  of  the  great  and  far-reaching 
issues  affecting  the  future  position  of  India  as  a  component 
and  equal  part  of  the  Empire. 


590  HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

Congress  Constitution 

XXI.  Resolved — That  the  following  two  amendments  sug- 
gested for  the  consideration  of  the  Subjects  Committee  of  this 
Congress,  be  referred  by  the  General  Secretaries  of  the  Congress  to 
a  Committee  consisting  of  three  members,  to  be  nominated  by  each 
Provincial  Congress  Committee  ;  with  the  General  Secretaries  as  ex- 
ofHcio  members,  the  said  Committee  to  meet  at  such  time  and  place 
as  may  be  fixed  by  them,  in  consultation  with  the  Secretaries  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  Committees,  and  to  report  to  the  All-India 
Congress  Committee  in  regard  to  the  said  amendments  for  such 
action,  if  any,  as  the  All-India  Congress  Committee  may  deem  fit 
to  suggest  to  the  next  Congress. 

The  said  two  amendments  are  : 

At  the  end  of  Article  XX  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Indian  Na- 
tional Congi-ess  Organisation  now  in  foire,  add  the  following 
words  : 

"  If  such  a  meeting  be  not  called,  it  shall  be  called,  for  the 
election  of  delegates,  within  one  month  of  the  Congress,  in  anj"^ 
town  or  district  on  the  requisition  cf  not  less  than  20  householders 
over  21  years  of  age  to  the  Provincial  or  District  Congress- 
Committee,  in  which  the  town  of  the  requisition  is  situate  '' 

2.  In  Article  XX  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Indian  National 
Congress  Organisation  now  in  force  make  the  following  alterations  : 

(I)  at  the  end  of  clause  (4)  delete  the  word  "  and  "  ; 

(II)  at  the  end  of  clause  (.5)  for  the  sto]i,  substitute  a  comma  : 

(III)  and  add  the  words  : 

"And  public  meetings  convened  under  the  auspices  of  any 
association  which  has,  as  one  of  its  objects,  the  attainment  of  Self- 
Governnient  by  India  on  Colonial  lines  within  the  British  p]mpire 
by  constitutional  means"" 

Thanks  of  Congress 

XXII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  records  its  sense  of  high 
appreciation  of  the  services  of  Sir  William  Wedderburn  and  other 
members  of  the  British  Committee,  and  resolves  that  the  organisa- 
tion of  the  British  Committee  and  India  should  be  maintained. 

XXIV.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  acknowledges  with  deep 
gratitude  the  services  rendered  at  great  ])ersonal  sacrifice  by  the 
Deputation  which  went  to  England  last  summer  on  behalf  of  the 
Congress  to  place  before  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India  the  views 
of  the  Congress  on  the  India  Council  Bill  of  1P14  and  other 
important  questions. 

[See  IV  {}'),  V,  XII,  XiX  and  XX.] 


THE    TWENTY-NINTH    CONGRESS  .  591 

Formal 

XXIII.  Resolved — That  the  Hon.  Nawab  Syed  Muhammad 
Bahadur  and  Mr.  N.  Subba  Rao  Pantulu  be  appointed  General 
Secretaries  for  the  next  year. 

XXV.  Resolved — That  the  following  gentlemen  form  the  All- 
India  Congress  Committee  for  1915  (list  omitted). 

XXVI.  Resolved — That  the  next  Congress  meet  in  Bombay. 


APPENDIX 
THK  TWKNTY-SEVENTH  a)NGRES8 


CHAPTER  XXVIl^ 


The  acceptance  of  Bankipur  as  the  seat  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  Congress  had  been  made  on  the  invitation  of 
Mr.  Hasan  Imam,  but  his  raising  to  the  Bench  de- 
prived India  of  his  political  services,  while  opening 
to  him  a  valuable  line  of  activity.  The  Chairman- 
ship of  the  Reception  Committee  was  assigned  to 
Mr.  Mazarhal  Haque,  known  all  over  India  for  his 
courageous  advocacy  of  Indian  claims  in  the  Supreme 
Legislative  Council.  The  pavilion  was  much  admired, 
and  had  28  gates,  each  named  after  a  famous  person 
or  place  in  the  history  of  Magadha,  and  there  the 
Congress  met  on  December  26th,  1912.  The  pavilion 
seated  5,000   persons  of   whom   207  were  delegates  : 

Madras  19 

Bombay 
Berar  ... 

C.  P 

Pan  jab 

U.  P 

Bengal 
Behar ... 


^  We  had  relied  on  a  statement  of  an  old  Congressman,  to  the 
effect  that  the  Report  of  the  Twenty -seventh  Congress  had  not  been 
published.  Mr.  Ashosh  Kumar  Bannerji  kindly  sets  us  right, 
and  sends  a  copy  of  the  Report.  As  the  book  is  "  locked  up  "  we 
print  the  summary  as  an  Appendix. 
45 


10 

13 

1 

4 

67 

;i5 

58 

207 

596  APPENDIX 

The  President's  procession  having  entered,  and  the 
members  being  seated  on  the  dais,  the  Hon, 
Mr.  Haque  delivered  the  Welcome  Address.  He  made 
a  feeling  allusion  to  the  outrage  at  Delhi,  and  to  the 
passing  away  of  two  great  Congressmen,  Allan 
Octavian  Hume,  and  Krishnaswami  Iyer.  Then  came 
a  swift  sketch  of  Behar  history,  and  a  reference  to 
the  happy  absence  of  any  Hindu-Muhammadan  ques- 
tion in  Behar.  After  a  survey  of  the  unfortunate 
position  taken  up  by  English  statesmen  towards 
Turkey,  and  the  wise  sympathy  shown  by  the 
Viceroy  and  the  Presidency  Governors,  and  Sir 
Charles  Bayley  and  Sir  James  Meston,  he  voiced  the 
gratitude  of  the  Muhammadans  to  Mr.  Surendranath 
Bannerji  for  the  sympathy  shown  in  The  Bengalee. 
He  concluded  by  calling  on  Mr.  Surendranath 
Bannerji  to  move  the  formal  election  of  the  Hon. 
Rao  Bahadur  Pt.  N.  Mudholkar. 

The  veteran  Bengali  patriot  was  followed  by  the 
Hon.  Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale,  the  Hon.  Pandit  Madan 
Mohan  Malaviya,  the  Hon.  Mr.  N.  Subba  Rao,  Lala 
Harkishan  Lai,  Mr.  Ambikacharan  Mozumdar,  and  the 
Hon.  Maharaja-Kumar  of  Tikari,  and  the  proposal 
was  unanimously  carried. 

The  President,  after  a  few  words  of  gratitude,  spoke 
of  the  Delhi  outrage  with  sympathy  for  the  victim 
and  detestation  of  the  crime.  He  then  passed  on  to 
the  ideal  of  the  Congress,  a  united  and  Self-Govern ing 
India,  an  India  in  which  jarring  creeds  should  be 
harmonised,  all  faiths  should  be  unified,  and  in  which 
life  should  be  spiritualised.    Then  he  laid  India's  love 


THE    TWENTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS  597 

and  gratitude  on  the  tomb  of  Mr.  Hume,  and  offered 
her  sympathy  to  Turkey.  Turning  to  National 
politics,  he  laid  stress  on  the  entrance  of  Indians  into 
the  Executive  Councils,  and  hailed  the  Viceregal 
Despatch  of  August  25th,  1911,  which  promised  lai-ger 
measures  of  Self-Government  to  the  Provinces,  "  until 
at  last  India  would  consist  of  a  number  of  administra- 
tions autonomous  in  all  provincial  affairs,  with  the 
Government  of  India  above  them  all,  and  possessing 
power  to  interfere  in  case  of  misgovernment,  ordinari- 
ly restricting  their  function  to  matters  of  Imperial 
concern  ".  He  then  pointed  out  the  changes  neces- 
sary in  the  Council  Regulations,  and  protested  against 
the  system  of  separate  electorates,  while  approving 
the  representation  of  minorities.  He  next  raised 
the  questioii  of  the  representation  of  India  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  Pondicherry  sent  a  represen- 
tative to  the  French  Chamber,  and  Goa  to  the 
Portuguese,  but  the  infinitely  larger  interests  of 
British  India  were  ignored.  This  section  of  the 
subject  was  completed  by  the  urging  of  decentralisa- 
tion, and  of  the  creation  of  divisional  and  district 
Advisory  Boards. 

After  a  glance  at  the  miserable  condition  of  Indian 
immigrants  into  the  Colonies,  the  President  turned  to 
the  position  of  Indians  here,  and  accurately  pointed 
out  that  the  scant  consideration  shown  to  them  abroad 
was  the  reflection  of  their  political  status  at  home. 
He  ran  over  the  familiar  grievances  in  the  Civil 
Service,  Simultaneous  Examinations,  Education,  Public 
Works,   etc.,   commissions   in  the  army — all  questions 


598  APPENDIX 

occupying  the  minds  of  the  people.  The  Congress 
itself  should  be  improved  by  the  discussion  in  detail 
of  three  or  four  subjects  only,  by  men  who  had  studied 
them.  The  Congress  must  put  forth  more  sustained 
energy,  and  we  must  remember  that  social  advance 
and  moral  and  spiritual  regeneration  must  accompany 
political  growth.  Only  thus  can  our  Motherland 
become  free  and  great. 

A  change  in  the  ordinary  sequence  of  Congress 
work  was  made  by  the  introduction  at  this  point  of  a 
Resolution — moved  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Surendranath 
Bannerji,  seconded  by  Mr.  D.  E.  Wacha,  and 
supported  by  Lala  Lajpat  Rai,  the  Hon.  Pandit 
Madan  Mohan  Malaviya,  the  Hon.  Mr.  N.  Subba  Rao, 
the  Hon.  Mr.  Krishna  Sahai  and  Mr.  kSyed  Muhammad 
Ismail,  who  all  voiced  the  sorrow  and  indignation  of 
the  Congress  for  the  Delhi  outrage — expressing  the 
sympathy  and  affection  felt  for  the  Viceroy.  A 
telegram  was  ordered  to  be  sent,  and  the  Subjects' 
Committee  being  approved,  the  Congress  adjourned. 

The  second  day's  proceedings  began  by  the  recital 
of  a  poem  on  unity  between  Hindus  and  Muslims. 
Then  came  Resolution  II,  expressing  the  grief  of  the 
Congress  for  the  death  of  Mr.  Allan  Octavian  Hume, 
feelingly  moved  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Bhupendranath 
Basu,  who  recounted  his  great  services  to  India, 
seconded  by  the  Hon.  Pandit  Motilal,  and  carried  in 
silence,  standing.  The  Viceroy's  reply  to  the  Congress 
telegram,  bringing  "  his  warmest  thanks  to  the  Indian 
National  Congress  for  their  kind  message  of  sympathy 
and   for  their  expression  of  regai-d,'^  was  then  read. 


THE    TWENTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS  o99 

The  Hon.  Mr.  G,  K.  Gokhale  moved  Resolution 
III,  while  congratulating  the  Indians  in  South  Africa 
for  some  alleviation  of  their  sufferings,  protested 
against  the  reservation  of  huge  tracts  of  land  for 
white  settlement,  and  demanded  the  abolition  of 
indentured  labour.  Mr.  Gokhale  explained  the 
private  nature  of  his  visit  to  South  Africa,  and 
explained  that  the  restriction  of  immigration  was  not 
a  restriction  on  the  Indians  but  on  the  Executive, 
imposing  on  the  latter  the  admission  of  an  irreducible 
minimum.  He  then  went  over  the  remaining  griev- 
ances, and  urged  the  Indians  at  home  to  support 
solidly  their  South  African  brethren.  The  Resolution 
was  seconded  by  the  Hon.  Pandit  Madan  Mohan 
Malaviya,  and  supported  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  Mazaral 
Haque,  Lala  Lajpat  Rai,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Harchandrai 
Bishandas,  Messrs.  Pramathanath  Bannerji,  Madanjit, 
C.  Y.  Chintamani  and  Kedarnath,  and  carried. 

The  fourth  Resolution  expressed  the  satisfaction  of 
the  Congress  at  the  appointment  of  the  Public  Service 
Commission — a  Resolution  passed  rather  too  soon — and 
outlined  certain  necessary  reforms.  It  was  moved  by 
the  Hon.  Mr.  Subba  Rao,  tracing  the  simultaneous 
examination  question  fi*om  1850  onwards,  when  the  re- 
form was  recommended  by  a  Committee  appointed  by 
the  Secretary  of  State.  The  Hon.  Rai  Bahadur 
Baikunthanath  Sen  seconded,  expressing  a  pious  hope 
that  the  new  Commission  might  do  better  than  its 
predecessor.  Dr.  D.  Sai-yadhikari,  Pandit  Gokaran- 
nath  Misra,  Mr.  D.  G.  Dalvi,  Dr.  Nilratan  Sarkar, 
Dr.  R.  Ranjit  Singh,  Pandit    Hridaynath  Kanzru,and 


600  APPENDIX 

the    Hon.  Mr.  Dwarkariiath,   all    supported,    and    the 
Resolution  was  carried. 

The  fifth  Resolution  on  Swadeshi  was  moved  by 
Mr.  Ambikacharan  Mozumdar,  who  said  that  though 
Swadeshi  had  begun  in  revenge  and  retaliation,  it 
had  now  struck  its  root  into  the  firm  ground  of  love 
and  patriotism.  If  Indians  loved  their  country, 
they  should  stick  to  the  Swadeshi  vow.  "  Every  pie 
that  you  spend  on  a  foreign  article  is  a  robbery  of 
the  limited  resources  of  the  country."  The  Resolution 
was  seconded  by  Mr.  V.  V.  Jogiah,  and  carried 
unanimously. 

The  Congress  adjourned. 

On  the  third  day,  Resolution  VI,  on  Local  Self- 
Government^  was  moved  by  Mr.  S.  V.  Narasimha  Rao. 
He  pointed  out  that  Lord  Ripon^s  Resolution  of  1882 
was  intended  to  use  Local  Self-Governraent  "  as  a 
means  of  political  and  popular  education  ".  After 
25  years,  Lord  Morley  found  that  the  scheme  had 
never  been  given  a  fair  trial,  and  urged  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  in  1908  to  shape  their  policy  on  the 
principle  laid  down  b}'  Lord  Ripon.  The  most  im- 
portant recommendation  is  the  establishment  of 
Village  Panchayats,  Lord  Morley  pointing  out  that 
"the  village  in  India  has  been  the  fundamental  and 
indestructible  unit  of  the  social  system,  surviving  the 
downfall  of  dynasty  after  dynasty  ". 

Mr.  N.  A.  Dravid  seconded,  and  Mr.  Arikshan 
Sinha  supported,  giving  v^arious  local  details  to  sliow 
the    need    for  reform.     The   Resolution    was    carried. 


THE    TWENTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS  601 

Resolution  VII  endorses  the  Despatch  of  the 
Government  of  India  to  the  Secretary  of  State  of 
August  25th,  1911,  and  challenges  the  interpretation 
put  on  it.  The  Hon.  Mr.  Surendranath  Bannerji,  in 
moving  it,  said  that  Provincial  Autonomy  was  a 
stage  on  the  road  to  Self-Clovernment.  Some  said 
Self-Grovernment  was  a  dream,  but  the  dreams  of  one 
age  were  the  realities  of  the  next.  Mr.  D.  A.  Kliare, 
in  seconding,  said  the  Despatch  must  be  read  in  the 
obvious  meaning  of  the  words,  and  not  in  the  words, 
of  Lord  Crewe.  Mr.  Shashanka  Jivan  Roy  supported ^ 
and  the  Resolution  was  carried. 

Resolution  VIII  expressed  the  regret  of  the  Con- 
gress that  the  Council  Regulations  had  not  been 
improved,  and  asked  for  13  definite  amendments  to 
them.  It  was  moved  by  the  Hon.  Mr.  S.  Sinha.  The 
Resolution  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Dwarkanath,  and 
supported  by  the  Hon.  A.  S.  Krishna  Rao,  Mr. 
Surendranath  Mallick,  Pandits  Rambhuj  Dutt 
Choudhuri  and  Gokarannath  Misra,  Dr.  Tej  Bahadur 
Sapru,  who  moved,  and  Mr.  C.  Y.  Chintamani, 
who  seconded,  an  amendment  excluding  those  who 
voted  in  separate  electorates  from  voting  in  general 
electorates.  The  Hon.  Mr.  Mazaral  Haque  appealed 
to  them  to  withdraw  the  amendment  for  the  sake  of 
peace,  and  they  did  so.  The  Resolution  was  carried 
with  one  dissentient. 

Resolution  IX,  asking  for  Executive  Councils  for 
the  U.  P.  and  the  Panjab,  was  moved  by  the  Hon. 
Pandit  Motilal  Nehru,  seconded  by  Munshi  ChailBihari 
Lai,   and  Resolution  X,  thanking  the  Government  for 


^02  APPENDIX 

establishing  Legislative  Councils  for  the  C.  P.  and 
Assam,  moved  by  Rao  Bahadur  R.  A.  Mundle,  and 
seconded  by  Mr.  G.  N.  Kane,  were  carried. 

Resolution  XI,  against  the  introduction  of  separ- 
ate electorates  for  Local  Bodies,  and  Resolution  XII, 
asking  that  the  Law  Membership  should  not  be 
restricted  to  Barristers,  were  put  from  the  chair  and 
carried. 

Mr.  Sachindra  Prasad  Bose  next  moved  Resolution 
XIII  on  Education.  He  said  that  the  whole  subject 
had  been  so  thoroughly  discussed  the  previous  year 
that  there  was  nothing  to  add.  The  Government 
knew  that  if  the  masses  were  educated  things  could 
not  go  on  as  they  were.  The  Congress  needed  the 
strength  which  came  from  the  people  behind  it. 
Mr,  C,  P,  Ramaswami  Aiyar  seconded,  and  urged 
that  they  should  agitate  as  one  man  until  Mr.  Gokhale's 
Bill  was  passed  into  law.  In  education  India  was  far 
Ijelow  Russia.  India  needed  residential  and  teaching 
Universities,  diffusing  the  light  of  knowledge  through 
the  land.  The  Resolution  was  supported  by  the 
Hon.  Mr.  Ramanbhai  Mahipatram,  Mr.  R.  C.  Ghose, 
and  Mr.  A.  B.  Patro,  and  carried. 

Mr.  G.  K.  Devadhar  moved  XIV,  an  important  Re- 
solution on  Sanitation,  pointing  out  the  duties  of 
Government  and  of  the  educated  class.  It  was  literally 
a  question  of  life  and  death,  yet  both  Govern- 
ment and  the  educated  showed  much  indifference. 
Dr.  Ranjit  Singh  seconded,  urging  the  spread  of 
simple  hygienic  knowledge.  The  Resolution  was 
carried. 


THE    TWENTY-SKVENTH    CONGRESS  603 

Eesolntions  XV  and  XVI,  on  Public  Expenditure 
and  Land  Settlement,  were  put  from  the  Chair  and 
passed.  Then  the  Hon.  Mr.  0.  Y.  S.  Narasimha 
Raj  moved  Resolution  XVII,  the  familiar  griev- 
ance of  the  exclusion  of  Indians  from  the  higher 
ranks  of  the  army.  It  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Prakasa 
Rao,  and  carried.  The  President  moved  from  the 
Chair  Resolution  XVIII,  asking  that  High  Courts 
might  be  directly  related  to  the  Government  of  India. 

Resolution  XIX,  conveying  the  thanks  of  the 
Congress  to  Mr.  Gokhale  for  his  services  in  South 
India,  was  moved  by  Dr.  Tej  Bahadur  Sapru,  seconded 
by  Mr.  Krishna  Sahay,  and  cai-ried  by  acclamation, 
the  whole  audience  rising  to  its  feet  and  cheering. 

Resolution  XX,  accepting  the  Constitution  and 
Rules  of  the  Congress,  as  amended  by  the  All-India 
Congress  Committee,  was  put  from  the  Chair  and 
carried.  The  only  important  change  was  giving  to 
Congress  Committees  and  their  affiliated  associations 
the  right  to  call  public  meetings  for  the  election  of 
delegates. 

Resolution  XXI  resolving  that  the  British  Com- 
mittee and  India  should  be  maintained,  was  carried. 
Resolution  XXIII  passed  the  All-India  Congress 
Committee  as  elected  by  the  Provincial  Committees. 
Resolution  XXII,  reappointing  Messrs.  Wacha  and 
Khare  as  General  Secretaries  was  passed  with 
acclamation.  The  invitation  to  Karachi  was  accepted 
unanimously,  and,  with  the  vote  of  thanks  to  the 
President  and  his  reply,  the  Twenty-seventh  National 
Congress  came  to  its  ending. 


604  APPENDIX 

RESOLUTIONS 

Sorro-w  of  Congress 

I.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  desires  to  place  on  record 
its  sense  of  horror  and  detestation  at  the  dastardly  attempt  made 
on  the  life  of  His  Excellency  the  Viceroy,  who  has  by  his  wise  and 
conciliatory  policy  and  eai-nest  solicitude  to  promote  the  well-being 
of  the  millions  of  His  Majestj''s  subjects  entrusted  to  his  care,  won 
the  esteem,  the  confidence,  the  affection  and  the  gratitude  of  the 
people  of  India.  The  Congress  offers  its  i-espoctful  sympathy  to 
Their  Excellencies  Lord  and  Lady  Hardinge  and  fervently  prays  that 
His  Excellency  may  have  a  speedy  recovery  and  restoration  to  health. 

II.  Resolved — (a)  That  this  Coiigress  places  on  record  its 
sense  of  profound  sorrow  for  the  death  of  Mr.  Allan  Octavian 
Hume,  C.B.,  the  father  and  founder  of  the  Indian  National  Congress, 
for  whose  lifelong  services,  rendered  at  rare  self-sacrifice,  India 
feels  deep  and  lasting  gratitude,  and  in  whose  death  the  cause  of 
Indian  progress  and  reform  has  sustained  an  irreparable  loss. 

(b)  The  President  be  requested  to  cable  this  resolution  to 
Sir  William  Wedderburn,  Baronet,  Chairman  of  the  British  Com- 
mittee of  the  Indian  National  Congress,  with  the  request  that  he 
may  convey  to  Mrs.  Ross  Scott,  Sij-.  Hume's  daughter,  the  sympathy 
of  the  Congress  in  her  great  bereavement. 

Indians  in  the  Colonies 

III.  Resolved — (/i)  That  this  Congress,  anticipating  the 
forthcoming  legisbition  of  the  provisional  settlement  recently  arrived 
ar,  cordially  congratulates  Mr.  Gandhi  and  tlie  Transvaal  Community 
upon  the  repeal  of  the  anti-Asiatic  legislation  of  the  Province 
regarding  registration  and  immigration,  and  expresses  its  high 
admiration  of  the  intense  patriotism,  courage  and  self-sacrifice  with 
which  they — Muhammadan  and  Hindu,  Zoroastrian  and  Christian — 
have  suffered  persecution  in  the  interest  of  their  ccjuntrynien  during 
their  peaceful  and  selfless  stiuggle  for  elementary  Civil  rights 
against  overwhelming  odds. 

(6)  Whilst  appreciating  the  endeavours  that  have  been  made 
from  time  to  time  to  secure  the  redress  of  the  grievances  of  the 
Indians  of  South  Africa  and  other  British  (  olouies,  this  Congress 
urges  that  in  view  of  the  avowed  inability  of  His  Majesty's 
Government  to  adopt  a  firm  and  decisive  attitude  in  this  matter,  the 
Government  of  India  should  take  such  retaliatory  measures  as  may 
be  calculated  to  protect  India's  self-respect  and  the  interest  of 
Indian  residents  in  those  parts  of  the  Empire,  and  thus  remove  a 
great  source  of  discontent  among  the  people  of  this  country. 

(c)  This  Congress  further  protests  against  the  declarations  of 
responsible    statesmen    in    favour    of  allowing    the    Self-Governing 


THE    TWENTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS  605 

Colonies,  in  the  British  Empire,  to  monopolise  vjist  undeveloped 
territories  for  exclusive  white  settlements,  and  deems  it  its  duty  to 
point  out  that  the  policy  of  shutting  the  door  in  those  territories 
ajcainst,  and  deuying  the  right  of  full  British  citizenship  to,  all  the 
Asiatic  subjects  of  the  British  Crown,  while  preaching  and  enforcing' 
the  opposite  policy  of  the  open  door  in  Asia,  is  fi-aught  with  grave 
mischief  to  the  Empire  and  is  as  unwise  as  unrighteous. 

(d)  Whilst  thanking  the  Government  of  India  for  the 
prohibition  of  the  recruitment  of  indentured  Indian  labour  for  South 
Africa,  this  Congress  is  stronglj'  of  opinion  that  in  th"  highest 
National  interest,  the  system  of  indentured  labour  is  undesirable  and 
should  be  abolished,  and  respectfully  urges  the  Government  to 
prohibit  the  further  recruitment  of  Indian  labour  under  contract  of 
indenture  whether  for  service  at  home  or  abroad. 

(e)  That  the  President  do  dispatch  the  following  message  to 
Mr.  Gandhi  :  "  The  Congress  reaffirms  last  year's  resolution,  ex- 
presses its  warmest  appreciation  of  your  efforts,  and  assures  you 
and  your  fellow  workers  of  the  country's  whole-hearted  support." 

Public  Service 

IV.  Resolved — (r/)  That  this  Congress  records  it  sense  of 
satisfaction  at  the  appointment  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Indian 
Public  Service,  and  while  expressing  its  regret  at  the  inadequacy  of 
the  non -official  Indian  element  thereon,  trusts  the  deliberation  of 
the  Commission  will  result  in  the  just  recognition  of  Indian  claims 
to    appointments  in  the   various  departments  of  the  Public  Service. 

(6)  This  Congress  urges  the  introduction  of  the  reforms 
outlined  below  : 

(1)  The  holding  of  the  open  Competitive  Examination  for 
the  Indian  Civil  Service  and  Public  Services  now  recruited  in 
England  simultaneously  in  India  and  in  England. 

(2)  The  recruitment  of  the  Public  Services  as  a  rule  by 
means  of  Competitive  Examinations  and  not  by  a  system  of 
nomination. 

(3)  The  abolition  of  the  division  of  Services  into  Imperial 
and  Provincial  as  now  constituted,  and  the  equalisation  of  the 
conditions  of  service  as  between  Europeans  and  Indians. 

(4)  The  abrogation  of  all  rules,  orders,  notifications  and 
circulars  which  expressly  or  in  effect  debar  Indians  as  such  fron> 
any  appointment  in  any  department. 

(5)  The  removal  of  restrictions  against  the  appointment  of 
persons  other  than  members  of  Indian  Civil  Service  in  certain  high 
and  miscellaneous  offices. 


606  APPENDIX 

(6)  The  complete  Separation  of  the  Executive  and  Judicial 
functions  and  services.  The  creati  >n  of  a  distinct  Judicial  Service 
to  be  recruited  from  among  members  of  the  legal  profession,  and  a 
proportionate   curtailment  of  the  cadre   of  the  Indian  Civil  Service. 

(7)  The  constitution  of  a  distinct  Indian  Civil  Medical  Service 
for  Civil  Medical  Service  for  Civil  Medical  appointments  and  the 
restriction  of  members  of  the  Indian  Medical  Service  to  military 
posts  only,  the  designation  of  the  Indian  Medical  Service  to  be 
changed  to  Indiaa  Military  Medical  Service. 

(8)  The  closing  of  all  Indian  Services  to  the  natives  of  those 
British  Colonies  where  Indians  are  not  elegible  for  service. 

Swadeshi 

V.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  accords  its  most  cordial 
support  to  the  Swadeshi  Movement  and  calls  upon  the  people  of 
India  to  labour  for  its  success  by  making  earnest  and  sustained 
efforts  to  promote  the  growth  of  indigenous,  industries  by  giving 
preference,  wherever  practicable,  to  Indian  products  over  imported 
commodities,  even  at  a  sacrifice. 

Liocal  Self-Government 

VI.  Resolved--That  this  Congress  expresses  its  regret  that  the 
recommendations  of  the  Decentralisation  Commission  with  regard  to 
the  further  development  of  Local  Self-Government,  have  not  yet  been 
given  effect  to,  and  urges  that  the  Government  of  India  may  be 
pleased  to  takf^  steps  without  delay  to  increase  the  powers  and 
resources  of  Local  Bodies. 

Provincial  Autonomy 

VII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  records  its  satisfaction  at 
the  recognition  by  the  Government  of  India,  in  their  Despatch  to 
the  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  dated  the  25th  August,  1911,  of 
the  necessity  of  introducing  autonomous  form  of  administration  in 
the  diffei-ent  Provinces  of  this  country,  and  begs  to  record  its 
respectful  protest  against  the  interpretation  sought  to  be  put  upon 
the  Despatch,  which  is  contraiy  to  its  letter  and  sjjirit. 

Representation 

VIII.  Resolved — (a)  That  this  Congress  records  its  sense  of 
keen  disa{)pointment  that  at  the  last  revision  of  the  Legislative 
Council  Regulations,  the  anomalies  and  inequalities,  the  rectification 
of  which  the  previous  Congress  strongly  ui-ged  upon  the  Govern- 
ment, have  not  been  removed.  And  in  order  to  allay  the  widespread 
dissatisfaction  caused  by  the  defects  complained  of,  and  iii  view  of 
the  experience  of  the  last  three  years,  this  Congress  earnestly  prays 
that— 


THE    TWENTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS  607 

(1)  There  should  be  a  non-official  majority  in  the  Imperial 
Legislative  Council ; 

(2)  There  should  be  a  majority  of  elected  members  in  all 
Provincial  Councils  ; 

(3)  The  system  of  voting  by  delegates  be  done  away  with 
where  it  still  exist ; 

(4)  The  franchise  be  broadened  by  simplifying  the  (juali- 
tication  of  electors  basing  it  on  education,  property  or  income  ; 

(5)  The  Government  should  not  have  the  power  arbitrarily 
to  declare  any  person  ineligible  for  election  on  the  ground  of  his 
antecedents  or  reputation  ; 

(6)  No  person  should  be  held  ineligible  for  election  on  the 
ground  of  dismissal  from  (jrovernment  Service,  or  of  conviction  in  a 
criminal  court,  or  from  whom  security  for  keeping  the  peace  has 
been  taken,  unless  his  conduct  has  involved  moral  turpitude  : 

(7)  No  property  or  residential  qualification  «hould  be  requir- 
ed of  a  candidate,  nor  service  as  member  of  a  Local  Body  ; 

(8)  A  person  ignorant  of  English  should  be  held  ineligible 
for  membership  ; 

(9)  It  should  expressly  be  laid  down  that  officials  should 
not  be  allowed  to  influence  elections  in  any  way  ; 

(10)  Finance  Committees  of  Provincial  Councils  should  be 
more  closely  associated  with  G-overnment  in  the  preparation  of  the 
annual  financial  statements  ; 

(11)  There  should  be  a  Finance  Committee  of  tlie  Imperial 
Legislative  Council  as  in  the  case  of  Provincial  Legislative  Councils  ; 

(12)  The  right  of  putting  supplementary  questions  should  be 
extended  to  all  members,  and  not  to  be  restricted  to  the  member 
putting  the  original  question  ; 

(13)  The  strength  of  the  Panjab  Council  be  raised  from  26 
to  50  and  more  adequate  representation  be  allowed  to  Panjab  in  the 
Imperial  Council. 

Separate  Electorates 

XI.  Resolved — Tliat  this  Congress  strongly  deprecates  the 
extension  of  the  principle  of  Separate  Communal  Electorates  to 
Municipalities,  District  IBoards  or  other  Local  Bodies. 

Executive  Councils  far  the  United  Provinces 
and  the  Panjab 

IX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  again  urges  that  an  Execu- 
tive  Council  with   an    Indian  member  be  established  in  the  United 


608  APPENDIX 

Provinces    at   an  early  date,  and   is  of  opinion  that  a  similar  Council 
should  be  established  in  Panjab  too. 

Thanks  cf  Congress 

X.  Eesolved  — That  tliis  Congress  thanks  the  Government  for 
the  establishment  of  Legislative  Councils  in  the- Central  Provinces 
and  Assam  and  is  of  opinion  that  the  former  administration  should 
be  raised  to  the  status  of  a   Lieutenant-Governor's  charge. 

XIX.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  pats  on  record  its  high 
appreciation,  of  the  valuable  work  done  by  the  Hon.  Mr. 
Gokhale,  C.I  E.,  in  his  visit  to  South  Africa  undertaken  at  the 
invitation  of  our  countrymen  in  that  Colony. 

XXI.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  records  its  sense  of  high 
appreciation  of  the  services  of  Sir  William  Wedderburn  and  the 
other  members  of  the  British  Committee,  and  resolves  that  the 
organisation  of  the  British  Committee  and  India  should  be 
maintained. 

Law  Membership 

XII.  Resolved.- — That  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Section  III  of 
the  Indian  Councils  Act  of  1861  is  understood  in  practice  to  limit 
appointment  to  the  office  of  Law  Member  of  the  Viceroy's  Executive 
Council  to  members  of  the  English  Bar  only ;  thereby  greatly 
restricting  the  field  from  which  a  selection  can  be  made,  this 
Congress  urges  that  the  said  Section  be  so  amended  as  to  allow  of 
Advocates,  Vakils  and  Attorneys-at-Law  of  Indian  High  Courts 
being  appointed  to  that  office. 

Education 

XIII.  Resolved — («)  That  while  expi-essing  its  satisfaction 
and  thankfulness  that  Government  have  announced  a  more  active 
educational  policy,  this  Congress  regrets  the  defeat  of  tlie  Hon. 
Mr.  Gokhale's  Elementary  Education  Bill,  and  affirms  its  conviction 
that  the  introduction  of  a  measure  of  Free  and  Compulsory  Educa- 
tion is  essential  to  secure  a  rapid  extension  of  Elementary  Education. 

(fj)     This   Congress   cordially    approves  of  the  movement  for 
the  establishment  of  teaching  anfi  residential  Universities  in  India. 

Sanitation 

XIV.  Resolved — (a)  That  this  Congress,  while  thanking  the 
Government  for  having  initiated  a  system  of  scientific  enquiry  into 
tlie  origin  and  progress  of  plague,  malaria  and  other  dis('ases,  urges 
the  necessity  of  immediately  taking  in  hand  such  practical  meas- 
ures as  the   necessity   of  congested  areas,  the  reclamation  of  silted 


THE    TWEKTY-SEVENTH    CONGRESS  609 

rivers,  the  clearing  of  jungles,  the  draining  of  waterlogged  areas, 
and  better  provision  for  the  supply  of  pure  drinking  water  through- 
out the  country. 

(b)  And  this  Congress  exhorts  Local  Bodies  and  Public 
Associations  to  systematically  educate  public  opinion  in  matters 
relating  to  sanitation  and  hygiene,  and  facilitate  the  working  of 
those  measures  that  are  inaugurated  with  a  view  to  check  the 
spread  of  disease  and  the  increase  of  mortality  and  to  secure  better 
health  and  sanitation  of  urban  and  rural  areas. 

Financial 

XV.  Resolved — That,  having  regard  to  the  enormous  growth 
that  has  taken  place  in  the  public  expenditure  of  the  country,  the 
Congress  urges  that  early  steps  be  taken  towards  effective  retrench- 
ment, in  all  the  spending  department,  of  the  Imperial  and  the 
Provincial  Governments  and  specially  the  Military  Department. 

Land  Settlement 

XVI.  Resolved — That  a  reasonable  and  definite  limitation  to 
the  demand  of  the  State  on  land  and  the  introduction  of  a 
Permanent  Settlement  directly  between  the  Government  and 
holders  of  land  in  ryotwari  areas,  or  a  Settlement  for  a  period  of 
not  less  than  60  years  in  those  Provinces  where  short  periodical 
settlements  or  revisions  prevail,  will  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress 
substantially  help  in  ameliorating  the  present  unsatisfactory 
condition  of  the  agricultural  population. 

Military 

XVII.  Resolved — That  this  Congress  is  strongly  of  opinion 
that  the  injustice  of  keeping  the  higher  ranks  in  the  army  closed 
against  the  people  of  India  and  the  exclusion  of  certain  races  and 
castes  from  the  lower  ranks  as  well  should  be  abolished. 

High  Courts 

XVIII.  Resolved — That  This  Congress  is  strongly  of  opinion 
that  the  High  Courts  in  India  should  have  the  same  direct  relation 
with  the  Government  of  India  alone  as  the  High  Court  at  Fort 
William  in  Bengal  has  at  the  present  time. 

Constitution  of  Congress 

XX.  Resolved — That  the  Constitution  and  Rules  of  the  Indian 
National  Congress  organisation,  as  amended  by  the  All-India 
Congress  Committee,  be  adopted. 


610 


APPENDIX 


Formal 


XXII.  Resolved — That    the     following    gentlemen     form    the 
All-India  Congress  Committee  for  1913  (list  omitted). 

XXIII.  Resolved— That  Messrs.  D.  E.  Wacha  and  D.  A.  Khare 
be  re-appointed  Secretaries  for  the  ensuing  year. 

XXIV.  Resolved — That  the  next  Congress  be  held  in  Karachi. 


\  \L  UUiNU-Ki^a 

lent 

No.  of 
Resolu- 
tions 
passed 

h 


all  Sayani 


9 
15 

11 
17 

15 
15 
18 

22 

23 
27 
26 

24 

21 


21 
25 


1 

.| 

1 

Tc- 

! 

No 

No. 

•     Date 

Place         Delo; 

(Reo 

* 

ter» 

17. 

23-12-01 

Calcutta 

1 

] 

18 

23-12-02 

Ahniedabad 

4 

19 

28-12-03      i 

Madras 

5' 

20 

26-12-04- 

Bombaj^ 

1,0 

21 

27-12-05 

K  a  s  h  i    or 
Benares 

7 

22 

26-12-06 

Calcutta 

1,6; 

23 

26-12-07 
28-12-07 

Surat 

1,6' 

28-12-08 

Madras 

6 

24 

27-12-09 

Lahore 

2 

25 

26-12-10 

Allahabad 

6: 

26 

26-12-11 

Calcutta 

4 

27 

26-12-12 

;   Bankipur 

28 

26-12-13 

!    Karachi 

i 

5 

29 

28-12-14 

Madi-as 

8 

STATKMKNT  GIVING  THE  MAIN  DATES   CONNECTED  WITH  THE  INDIAN  NATIONAL  CONGRESS  FROM  ITS  INCEPTION  IN    1».) 


Total 

So.  of 

So. 

Date 

Place 

No.  of 

Delegates 

(liegi.- 

terod) 

No.  of 

Chairman  of  the  Reception 

Genera 

and  Joint  General                     \-niie  of  the  President 

Itesolu- 

passefl 

Subject  of  Uesoluti'.nH  in 
each  Congress 

List  of  im].nrtJiut  Ilesohitiona  piisso.l  .luring  29  years  on 
t}|.-     fnllo^vinK    subjects 

1 

28-12-S5 

Bombji.v 

72 

W.  C.  Uonnerji 

9 

3.  11,  18,2.5,33,38 

1.   Alikari     2.  Aj<ricultui-o    3.  Annexation   of    U.    Burma 

2 

28-12.S6 

Calcutta 

434 

Dr.  Kajondralala  Mitra 

A.  0.  Home 

(by  implication) 

Dndabhai  Xaoroji 

15 

21,23,35,38 

4.  Boyoott    5.  Cable    charges    and  Telegrams    6.  Coereivs 

3 
4 

28-12.87 
26-12-88 

Modms 
Allahabad 

607 
1,248 

3,000 
5,000 

Rajah  Sir  T.  Madhava  Kao 
Pandit  Ayodhyanath 

do- 
do. 

Budi-uddin  Tyabji 
Mr.  Yule 

17 

9,21,2.5,38,43 

1,9,  11.  21.  2.5,  31,34,35, 
38,43 

Meaaares    7.  Couciliation  Boards    8.  Ecouomic  Coudition 
9.  Edacation     10.  Emigration,  Indians  in  Colonies     11.  En- 
qniries    12.  Executive  and  Bench     13.  Famine     H.  Finance 

5 

26-12-89 

Bombay 

1,889 

4,000 

PheroKeshah  M.  Mehta 

A.  0.  Hume 

(by  appointment) 

Sir  William  Wodderbn^n 

15 

1,  16,20,25,35,38,43 

15.  Forest     16.  Grievances  and  Siiiiply     17.   High  prices  of 

6 

26-12-90 

Calcutta 

677 

7,000 

Manamohan  Ghose 

do. 

Sir  Pherozeshah  Mehta 

15 

I,  U,  16,20,38,43 

Food-fltuffs     18.  India    Conncil      ID.   Industries      20.  Land 

28-12-91 

Nagpur 

812 

3,200 

C.  Narayanasami  Naidn 

1.  A.  0.  Hii 

(jt.sl.) 

do. 

no(sl.)2.Ayodhyanath 

P.  Ananda  Charlu 

18 

9,  15,21,25,31,38,43 

Tenure,    Permanent    Settlement      21.  Law      22.  Loyalty 

8 

28-12-92 

.\llahabad 

625 

2,800 

Pandit  Biahambernath 

do. 

W.  C.  Bonnerji 

22 

8,   9,    14,  15,    20,    21,  2S, 

23.  Medical    24.  Migration    25.  Military    26.  Mjning  Industry 
27.  Official  Secrets  Bill^,  Outrages    29.  Partition  of  Bengal 

34,  35,  38 

9 

27-12-93 

Lahore 

867 

3,200 

Sardar  Dayal  .Singh 

do. 

2.  Ananda  Charlu 
(jt-  Si-) 

Dadabhai  Naoroji 

23 

8,9,  12  14,  15,  20.  21,23, 
24,  34,  38 

30.  Plague      31.  Police     32.  Political  Prisoners     33.  Press 

10 

26-12-94 

Madi-an 

1,163 

4,000 

P.  Kangiah  Naidu 

A.  0.  Hume 

Mr.  Alfred  Webb 

27 

8,  9,  10,  14,  15,  18,  20,  21, 
23,  33,  35,  39,  43 

34  Prostitution    35.  Pablic  Service  Simultaneous  Examina- 
tion    36.  Railway     37.  Reciprocity     38.  Representation 

11 

27-12-9.5 

Poona 

1,584 

S.  M.  Bhidc 

do. 

Surendranath  Bannerji 

26 

9,  14,  15  16,20,21,23,33, 
35,  36,  38,  43 

Legislative  Councils    39.  Sanitation    40.  Sedition    41.  Self- 

1! 

28-12-96 

Caientta 

784 

Sir  Romeehelnmdra  Mitra 

1,  A.  0.  Hut 
(it.  Si.) 

le  (gl.)  2.  D.  B.  Wacha 

Muh-dinniad  Muliimtullah  Sayani 

24, 

9,10,13,14,20,21,24.35, 
38,43 

Government     42.  Swadeshi     43.  Taxation,  Salt-Income 
44.  Tibetan  Affairs     45.  Union  for  Self-Government  between 

13 

27-12-97 

Aniraoti 

«92 

Khaparde 

do. 

Sir  C.  Sankaran  Nair 

21 

6,  13,14,  20,21,25,33,35, 
38,40 

the  Congress  and  the  Muslim  League 

14 

29-12-98 
27-12-99 

Madras 
LuckMow 

614 
740 

3,500 

N.  Subba  Rao 
BanBi  Lai  Sinpb 

do. 
do. 

Ananda  Mohan  Base 
Romeahehandra  Dntt 

27 
21 

6,9,  10,  14,20,21,25,  30, 
33,  35,  41 

1  9, 13,  14,  20,  21,  25,  30, 
33,  35,  38 

16 

N.B. — Formal     Resolutions    on    (■iiu;^r.ituliiti.iiis,  cDinlolenL-es, 

Congress  Coustitution  and  most  appointments,  etc.,  have 

16 

27-12-1900 

Lahore 

567 

Kali  Prasaiina  Roy 

do. 

X.  G.  Chandrararkar 

25 

1,9,  10,  13,  19,  20,21,  25, 
26,  35,  38 

been  omitted. 
Noa.  in   the  penultimate   col.  refer  to  Resolutions  numericftUy 
detailed  in  the  last  col. 

o 


r    r 


J 


2;M2.02 
28-12-03 

26.I2.Oi 

27-12.05 

26.12.06 

26.12.07 
28.12-07 
28-12-08 

27-12-0» 

26-12-10 
26-12-U 

26.12-12 
2612-13 


>Jo.  of 

Delegates 

(Bogie. 

lered) 


Alinieclnbiic] 


Calcutta 


Martins 


Nirr, 
471 

588' 

5,500 

1,010 

768 

1,063 

20,000 

i,dBo 

5,400 

626 

243 

686 

4,000 

446 

4,500 

560 

866 

1.  A.  O.  Hume  (gl)  2,  D.  E.  Wacha 
(subsequently  became  the  Pre. 
sident) 


Ambnial  lleeni 

Nawab  Syed  M 
Bahadur 

Sir  P.  H.  Mehta 
Madbo  Lai 

Dr.  Raali  Behari  Gbose 
Tribhuran  Das  Malvi' 

Dewaii    Baliadur    K.     Krishna. 

Harikiahan  Lai 

Pt.  Sundur 
Bhujicudi-anath  Kasu 

Mazarbal  Haque 
HariBchandra  Vishandas 
SirS.  Subntmania  Iyer 


l.D.  E.  Wacha  2.  D.  A.  Kba; 


1.  Syed  Muhammad  2.  N.  Subba  Rao 


of  the  President 


Surendranatb  Bannerji 
Lai  Mohan  Ghose 

Sir  Henry  Cotton 

G.  K.  Gokhale 

Dadabhai  Naoixij  i 

Dr.  Rash  Behari  Ghose 
do. 
do. 

Madan  Mohan  Malaviya 

Sir  William  Wedderbum 
Bishen  Nai-ayan  Dhar 

R.  N.  Mudholkar 

Nawab  Syed  Muhammad  Baha. 
dur 

Bbupendranath  Basu 


8,9,10,14,21,23,25,31,43 

9,  10,  20, 25,  in,  29,  35,  38, 
41 

8,9,  10,  14,  21,25,  2!),  31, 


6,  9,10,20,  21,28,29,38. 


5,  6,  7,  9, 10,  14,  21,  32 

5,  6,  9,  10,  14,20,  21,23, 
25,  29,  31,  35,  38,  39,  41, 
42,43 


o 


NOTE 

1.  For  the  purpose  of  this  Index  all  the  Resolutions  are 

numbered  seridtim  and  are  referred  to  by  their 
numbers.  The  numbers  in  brackets  following  the 
names  of  Movers,  etc.,  of  Resolutioiis  indicate  the 
Congress. 

2.  Where   any  person    has   taken   part  in  the  Congress 

activities  in  any  particular  capacity,  such  capa- 
city is  indicated.  In  other  cases,  the  names  only 
are  given. 

3.  When  a  subject  has  been    discussed  by  the  Congress 

as  the  object  oP  a  Resolution  the  names  of  the 
mover,  seconder,  supporter  and  other  speakers 
have  been  indicated.  Subjects  not  discussed  as  the 
objects  of  Resolutions,  but  only  referred  to  in  any 
other  connection,  are  mentioned  without  further 
particulars. 

4.  The     following     abbreviations     have    been     used    to 

economise  space. 

1.  A.I.        =  Agent  for  the  sale  of  the  newspaper 

India 

2.  B.C.        =  British  Committee 

3.  C.A.B.   =  Committee   on  Address  to  Mr.  Brad- 

laugh 

4.  C.C.       ^=  Congress   Committee 

5.  C.C.C.    =  Committee  for  considering  the    con- 

tinuance  or   otherwise  of  the  Con- 
gress 

6.  C.I.         =   Committee  on  Industries 

7.  C.L.T.    =   Committee    to   represent    grievances 

in  Land  Tenure  to  the  Viceroy 


614  HOW    IXDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 

8.  C.P.P.  =  Committee     for    presentation    of     a 

petition  to  Parliament 

9.  C.R.E.  =  Congress  Representative  in  England 

10.  D.H.  =   Delegate  befox'e  Lord  Hardinge 

11.  D.Y.  =  Deputation  to  the  Viceroy 

12.  E.C.  =  Education  Committee 

13.  F.C.  =  One  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Congress 

14.  i.C.C.  =  Indian  Congress  Committee 

15.  M.  =  Mover  of  a  Resolution 

16.  M.A.  =  Mover  of    an    Amendment 

17.  P.L.C.  =  Papjab  Land  Alienation  Committee 
IS.    Pr.  =  Proposer  of  a  Resolution 

19.  P.S.C.  =   Public  Service  Conaaittee 

20.  R.  =   Resolution  number 

21.  R.C.       =  Rules  Committee 

22.  S.C.       =   Subjects  Committee 

23.  S.C.C.  =   Standing  Counsel  of  the  Congress 

24.  S.C.M.  =   Secretary   for  the    Circle   formed  for 

collection    of   money   for   the  Con- 
gress 

25.  Sc.         =   Seconder  of  a  Resolution 

26.  Sc.A.    ^  Seconder  of  an  amendment 

27.  Sp.        =   Speaker  in  Connection  with  a  Resolu- 

tion 

28.  Spp.       =   Supporter  of  a  Resolution 

29.  Spp. A.  =  Supporter  of  an  Amendment 

30.  Su.C.C.=  Surat  Congress  Committee 


INDEX  TO    HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION 


1.  SUBJECTS 

Ahmedxagar  K  1  X  g  d  o  m 

The 
Akbar's  reign 
Alexander's     invasion      of 

India 
Allahabad  Darbar,  The 
Ancient    Indian    and    con 

temporary  civilisations 
Andhra  Kingdom,  The  11, 
Annexation  of  the  Camatic 
„  Panjab 

„  Native   States 

Arabian  invasion,  The 
Aryan  Home,  The 

Bahamani  Kingdom,  The 

Beginning  of  the  downfall 
of  the  Mughal  Dynastv, 
The  .         .  .       ". 

Beginning  of  India's  His- 
tory .  .  .  . 

Berar  Kinsrdom,  The 

Bidar 

Bijapur  ,, 

Black  Hole  of  Calcutta, 
The  ... 

Black  Town  and  the  White 
Town  of  Madras,   The 

Board  of  Control.  The 

British  in  India,  The 

Buddhist  Tower,  The 


Cal'ses  of  British  Success 

IN  India,  The          .         .  36: 

Chalukya  Kingdom,  The    .  26 

32    }    Chandragupta's       Admini 

29    '        stration  ....  9 

Charles  Edward             .          .  53 

8    ,    Chola  Kingdom,  The  .  12,14 

-19    I    Court  of  Directors,  The      .  39 

1    i    Danish  Settlement,  The  .       36 
12,26    j    Darbar   of   Allahabad  and 
48  the     Queen's   Proclama 


48 

tion.  The 

49 

49 

Dawning 

,  The     . 

1 

20 

Dutch  Settlement,  The 

36 

5 

Dynasty- 

— Kanva 

12 

Kushan 

16 

.       32 

,, 

Maghada    . 

7 

1 

Maurya 

8 

", 

Mughal 

27 

28 

Saka 

16 

Simga 

12 

6 

32 

East       I 

NuiA      Company's 

32 

Oppressions   . 

43 

32 

Earliest 

History   of  India, 

The 

1 

41 

Early     European     arrivals 

before 

the    English 

35 

38 

Early    T 

rade    and  Naviga- 

.       39 

tion 

23 

34,  37 

Emden 

Company    visiting 

.       16 

India, 

The        .         .          . 

35 

616 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Emperoi-s  of  India,  The 
English  gaining   ground  in 

Bengal     ...  4] 

Exports  and  Imports . 

Famines  in  India 

First  and  last  Governors 
under  the  East  India 
Company,  The 

First  Capital  of  India,  The 
,,  English  visitor  in 
India,  The 

First  Historical  Emjieror  of 
India       .... 

First  Hospital  in  Europe, 
The         .... 

First  Mughal  Emperor,  The 
,,  Parliamentary  Inter- 
ference witli  Indian 
Affairs,  The     . 

First  Peshwa,  The      . 

Fort  Saint  George 

French  Settlement,  The     . 

OoLcoNDA  Kingdom,  The  . 
Greco-Parthian      Invasion 

of  India,  The   . 
Gujjta  Emperor  .  l*; 

Gupta  Era,  The 

Hindu  revival  before  the 

RISE     OF     THE       MaRATHA 

POWER,  The     . 
Historical  period  according 

to  Western    writers,  The 
Horse  Sacrifice  .         .         .   i 
Hun  Invasion  of  India,  The 

India     under  the    Gupta 

DYNASTY    .... 

India — whence  the  name    . 
India's  middle  history 
India's  present  condition   . 
India's  prosperity 
Indian     prosperity    before 
Mahomedan  invasion 


18 

5 

4 

50 

31 

20 


9 

Indian    wealth    attracting 

the  Europeans 

35 

42 

Indo-Parthian      Kingdom, 

23 

The           .... 
Invasion  of  India  by    Alex- 

lie 

53 

ander.      .... 

8 

Invasion  of  India  hj  Arabs 

20 

„                by  Greco- 

40 

Parthians 

16 

7 

Invasion  of  India  by  Huns  . 

19 

„                Kusthans 

16 

6 

,,                 Muham- 

niadans  .... 

24 

8 

Invasion  of    India  by    No- 

madic Tribes  . 

16 

19 

Invasion  of  India  by  Turks 

20 

26 

I.- lam  in  India    . 

23 

Kanva  Dynasty,  The 

12 

39 

Keralaputra  Kingdom,  The  1 2 

15 

33 

Kingdoms  of  India     . 

12 

38 

Kingdom — Andhra     ,    11,  14 

,26 

36 

„            Bahamani. 

32 

,,           Berar 

32 

32 

„           Bidar 

32 

„           Bijapur 

32 

16 

„           Chalukva  . 

20 

20 

Chola  .'      .           12 

14 

17 

„           Golkonda  . 

32 

„           Indo-Pai-thian  . 

16 

„           Keralaputra        12 

,15 

„           Pandyan     , 

32 

32 

„            Satyaputra 

13 

Sikh  . 

48 

6 

„           Tamil 

12 

20 

„           Vijayanagar 

27 

19 

Kushan  Dynastv 

16 

Madras  Presidency  creat- 
ed . 
Magadha  Dynasty,  The 
Maratha  Branches,  The 
„  Confederacy,  The 

„         Empire's  End, 
The 
Maurva  Dvnastv,  The 


38 


34 
32 


48 
8 


INDEX    TO    HISTOEICAL    INTRODUCTION 


617 


Military  profession  confin- 

2. NAMES 

ed  to  the  Kshattriyas 

22 

Missionaries       of      various 

Aditva 

15 

nationalities,  The    . 

37 

Adityasena 

'  3, 

20 

Mughal  Dynasty,  The 

27 

Agastya 

13 

Muhammadan    invasion    ot 

Ajatashatru 

7 

Southern  India 

26 

Akbar 

27 

Mussalinan  invasion.  The 

23 

Ala-ud-din 
Ala-ud-din  Hasan 

26 
32 

OSTEND  COMPAXV    VISITING 

Alexander 

.     5.  8 

India,  The 

3.5 

Alfred,  King 

6 

Paniiyan  Kingdom,  The    . 

12 

Ashoka        .         .        5, 

11, 

12, 

14 

Pax  Britannica,  The  . 

49 

Ashvaghosha 

16 

Policy    of    the    East   India 

Aurangazeb 

28, 

33, 

51 

Company 

40 

Portugese  Settlement,  The 

36 

Babar 

26, 

27 

Proofs  of   India's  Ancient 

Baji  Rao     . 

34 

Civilisation     . 

6 

Balaji  Viswanath 

33 

34 

Bappa 

20, 

24 

Queen's  Proclamation,  The     49 

Bernier 

29 

Bharata 

8 

Saka  Dynasty,  The  . 

16 

Bhattumurti 

18 

Samvat  Era,  The 

18 

Bindusara  . 

11 

Satyaputra  Kingdom,   The 

13 

Brehidrita  or  Brihadratha 

11 

Self-Government  wanted 

56 

Buddha,  Lord     . 

7 

Sepoy  Revolt  of  1857,  The 

49 

Burke 

47 

Settlement — Danish  . 

S6 

Dutch    . 

36 

Cesar,  Augustus 

13 

„             French  . 

36 

Canning,  Earl     . 

40, 

49 

,,             Portuguese 

36 

Catharine  of  Braganta 

38 

Seventy-five  days'  Festiva 

21 

Chanakya  . 

10 

Shivaji's  Government 

32 

Chandragupta I  . 

17 

Sikh  kingdom,  The    . 

48 

II 

18 

Some  deductions  and  aati 

Chandragupta       Vikrama 

cipations 

52 

ditya 

18 

State    of   thf  People  undei 

Chandragupta  or  Chan 

dra 

the  Mughals    . 

29 

inori 

3 

,  8, 

10 

Sunga  Dynasty,  The  . 

12 

Chandragupta  Maurya 
Chandra  Mori     . 

27 

32 

8 

Tamil  Kingdom,  The 

12 

Charles  I    . 

38 

Trade  and  Navigation 

13 

„       II  . 

38 

Turkish  invasion,  The 

20 

Charnok,  Job 

38 

United  East   India  Com 
pany,  The 

39 

Child,  Sir  John  . 
Chirol,  Sir  Valentine. 
Clive .          .         35,  40, 

41 

3, 
42 

39 
50 

44 

VlJAYANAGAR   KINGDOM 

27 

Colbert 

29 

618 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Coote,  Colonel    . 

.       41 

Macaulay           39,  40,  43 

,  44,  45 

Corawallis,  Lord 

.       47 

Malik  Katur 

27 

Crape,  Captain  Roelant      .       30 

Man  Sinha 

.       27 

Cromwell    . 

37,  38 

Marco  Polo 

.       22 

Megasthenes 

.  9,  10 

Dalhousie,  Lord 

.       48 

Metcalfe 

.       48 

Darius 

7 

Minakshi  Animal 

14 

Day,  Mr.     . 

.       38 

Mir  Jafar    . 

41,  42 

Diodorus  Hiciihis 

6 

Money,  Lord 

.       50 

Duplex 

36,  40 

IVfuhammad  Ben  Kasim 

.       20 

Ghori       . 

21,  26 

Ekanath     . 

.       32 

,,             of  Ghazijii 

.       25 

Elisabeth     . 

37,  38 

Nanak 

.       48 

Nanda  Kumara  . 

45 

Fa-Hikn     . 

IS,  19 

Nawab  of  Bengal 

44 

Firakshere. 

.       38 

„         Camatic 

.       40 

Firoze 

31 

Nizam    of  Deccan,  The 

.       47 

GOKHALE     . 

.       52 

Omichand  . 

.       41 

Govinda  Singh   . 

.       48 

Phillimore 

.       31 

Haksha 

19,  20,  21 

Pliny  the  Elder 

23,  29 

Hastings,    Warren    39 

,  44, 
45,  46,  47 

Poros .... 
Frithviraj 

8 
.       25 

Hawkins,  Captain 

.      37 

Pushyamitra         .         .     3, 

11,  12 

Hippon,  Captain 

37 

Hiram  of  Tyre 
Hiuen  Tsang 

6 

Radha  Kumuii  MUKERJI 

5 

14,  20,  21 

Raja  of  Chandragiri,  The 

.       38 

Humayun 

.      27 

„         Tanjore 

.       37 

Hunter,  Sir  Williarn  . 

5,  9,  22 

Rajaram 

33 

Ramachandra     .         .        L 

,  8,  13 

Ramdas 

.       32 

Ibrahim  Lodi 

.       26 

Rameses  II 

6 

Impey,  Sir  Elijali 

.      46   : 

Ranade,  Justice  . 

.       32 

James  I      .         .         . 

28 

Ranjit  Singh 
Roe,  Sir  Thomas 

.       48 

28 

Jehangir    . 

27,    28    : 

Sabuktinin 

24 

Kadphises  I  &  II 

.       16 

Sagara         .          , 

3 

Kaiiishka    . 

.       16    t 

Samudragiipta     . 

.       17 

Kushra  II 

.       26 

Sanuta  Marino    . 

.       13 

Krishna,  Shri 

2 

Sayce,  Dr. 

4 

Khulasekhara 

.        13 

Schwarz 

.      37 

Kumaragupta 

19 

Seleukidje 

.       16 

Kumari  Devi 

.       17 

Semiramis  of  Nineveli 

21,6 

INDEX    TO    HISTORICAL    INTRODUCTION 


619 


Shah  Jehaii         27,  28,  29,  37,  38 
Shaku  .         .  .         .       33 

Shivaji        ...  29,  32 

Sighalmas,  Bishop  of  Sher- 
borne      ....         6 
Siraj-ud-daiila  .         .       41 

Skandaffupta       ...       19 
Smith,  Vincent,  A.       2,  7,  8,  10, 
11.  15,  19,  50 
Strabo  ....        13 

Strabrobate.'!       ...         6 
Sujah  Daula        .  45,  46 


Tiruvalluvar 
Toda  Mall  . 
Trajan 
Tnkaram    . 

Vaman  Pandit  . 
Victoria,    Queen 
Vijaya 
Vikramaditya      . 

Watson,  Admiral 
Wellesley,  Marquis  of 


14 
27 
16 
32 

32 
35 
13 

18 

41 

48 


Tamerlane 
Thomas,  Saint 
Thurlow      . 
Tippu  Snltaii 


rt 


30 
15 

47 
47 


Yudhishtira 


Zamorix    of   Calicut,  The     37 


INDEX  TO  RESOLUTIONS 


M. 


1  Abkari — Local  Option 
and  Administration 
72,  118, 137, 157,  177, 
202,  237,  246,  265, 
289,  306, 
(21)  S.  Balaclian- 
dra  Krishna    . 

(5)  R  e  V.    G.    M. 
Cobban 

(8)  G.    S.    K  li  a  - 

parde 

(15)   G.  C.  Mitra      . 

(4,6)  D.     E.    Wacha 

67, 

(6)  Lala  M  u  r  1  i- 
dhar 

(21)   G.   A.  Natesan 
(15)  A.    C.    Partha- 
sarathv  Naidu 
(5)  D.  E.  Waclia    . 
Spp.  (21)   B.     S.    Bhatia 


Sc. 


(5) 


M  r 


Rev 
Evans 
(15)   Miss     Garland 
(5)  Rev.  Mr.  R.  A. 
Hume 

Ram  Prasad     . 
Rataiinath 
2  Agriculture  . 

M.   (17)   Y.    Chondhuri 
So.  (17)   Cama 
Sp.  (17)   Khoja  Muham- 
mad Xo(n- 


(15 
(15) 


433 
423 

81 

151 

299 

112 

112 
423 

299 

81 

423 

81 
299 

81 
299 
299 
349 
343 
343 

343 


Sy.(l7)  N.  K.  R  a  m  a- 

swanii  Aiyar  .   343 
„  (17)   Dr.   Sureswara 

Mukerji  .  343 

3  Alienation    of    lands — 

Commission     of    En- 
quiry .  .  .  505 

4  Alienation    of     lands — 

Panjab  Bill  condemn- 
ed      ....  304 
M.   (15)LalaMurlidhar  295 
„    (24)   Sang-amlal       .  500 
Sc.  (24)   Lala    Bhana 

Ram         .  .  500 

,,  (15)   Lala     Kannai- 

hia  .  .  500 

Sp.  (15)   H  a  s  h  m  a  t 

Husain    .  .  295 

„  (24)  Lala  Ram  .  500 
„  (24)  Mathra  Das  .  .500 
„  (15)  Phansalhar  .  295 
„   (24)   Sardar     Meer- 

Singh  Chowla  500 

5  Alienation    of    lands — 

Right  claimed   .  .  224 

M.  (il)  R.    N.    M  u  d- 

holkar     .  .   218 

Sp.  (11)  R.    P.     Karan- 

dikar        .  .  218 

6  All-India    Committee 

462,  490,  527,  550 
M.   (26)  Bishan  Nara- 

van  Dhar         .  543 


INDEX    TO    RESOLUTIOKS 


621 


M.  (22)  D.  A.  Khare    . 
„    (25)  SirWm.  Wed- 
derburn  . 

7  Annexation    of    Upper 

Burma 

8  Apijointnient      of      the 

General  and  Joint 
General  Secretaries 
of  the  Congress  74, 
94,  121,  14£),  ]61, 
181,  205,  228,  250, 
269,  290,  310,  329, 
351,  373,  392,  413, 
440,  455,  4eS0,  508, 
527,  550,  569, 
M.    (29)   Bhupendra- 

nath  Basu 
„    (26)  Bisban      Nara- 

yun  Dhar 
„    (14)  A.  M.  Bose       . 
„    (16)  N.  G.    Chanda- 

^•arkar 
„    (20)  Sir  Henry  Cot- 
ton . 
,.    (22)  Dadabhai  Nao- 

roji 
„    (15)  R.  C.  Dutt 
„    (28)  H  ar  isfhandra 

Vishindus 
„    (24)  M  a  dan    Mo- 
han   Malaviva 
„     (9)  C.    Sankara 

Nair 
„    (18,  19)     Surendra- 
nath    Bannerji 
364, 
Sc.  (28)  D.  E.  Dalai     . 
9  Arms  Act     c3,    72,    93, 
117,    136,    158,     177, 
202.    227,     246,    265, 
289,     371,    391, 
M.     (3)  Adam,    John  . 
„    (11,  12)     Ali- Maho- 
med Bhimji  221, 
„    (10)  Bisban     Xara- 
van   Dhar 


457 

M. 

(14)  Grubb      . 

283 

,, 

(8)  G.  S.  Khaparde 

151 

519 

,, 

(19)   L  a  1       Mohan 

Ghose 

385 

14 

,, 

(3)  S  a  b  h  a  p  a  t  i 

Mudaliyar 

50 

„ 

(13)  C.  Sankaran 

Nair 

259 

„ 

(29)  A.P  Sen 

577 

,, 

(18)  Surendranath 

Bannerji 

364 

Sc. 

(14)  Adam,  John    . 
(3)   Bepinchandra 

283 

i'al 

50 

591 

,, 

(5)   H  a  r     Bhaga- 

van   Das . 

85 

583 

,, 

(29)  C.  P.  R  a  m  a- 

swamy  Iyer 

579 

543 

,, 

(11)  N.  M.  Samarth 

222 

290 

Spp 

.(14)  HabibuUaah 

Sabab      . 

283 

322 

,, 

(12)  Nibaran  Cban- 

drados     . 

238 

406 

„ 

(14)  A.    C.  Partha- 

sarathi  Naidu 

283 

455 

,, 

(12)  Rai  Sangavani 

222 

303 

„ 

(29)   Somasundram 

Pillai      . 

58  0 

562 

,, 

(4)   Ali    Mahomed 

Bhimji    . 

67 

501 

,, 

(29)   Krishnadas 

Rai. 

580 

163 

,, 

(4)  P.  M.  Mehta  . 

67 

„ 

(6)  Sad-ud-din 

111 

, 

do)  B.  G.  Tilak     . 

188 

386 

10  Assam      Labour     Law 

562 

Repeal 

349 

M 

(17)  J  o  g  e  n  d  r  a 
C   li  a  n  d  r  a 

Ghose 

343 

586 

Sc 

.(17)   Bepin      Chan- 

50 

dra  Pal   . 

343 

Si^p.  (17)   Lalit       Mohan 

237 

Ghosal     . 

343 

11   Berar  Legislation  269 

198 

290,  309, 325,  439 

488 

622 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


M.  (14)  A.  M.  Bose      . 
„    (16)  N.  G.  Chanda- 

varkar 
„     (15)   R.  C.  Dutt       . 
.,     (23)   Rash   Behari 
GhosR 
]  2  Berai-  and  C.  P.  Legisla- 
tion '  488, 
M.   (24)   C.  Y.     Cliinta- 

niani 
Sc.   (24)  X.  A.  Dravid  . 

13  Boycott  Movement 
M.    (22)  A  m  b  i  k  a  - 

Charan        Ma- 
zunidar    . 

„     (28)  Syed    Muham- 
mad 
Sc.  (22)   Bepin  Cliandi-a 
Pal  . 
Spp.     ,,      A  Choudhuri  . 

„      „      Madan    Mohan 
Malaviya 

„      „      G.  K.  Gokhale 

„      ,.      L.  A.  Govinda- 
raghava  Iyer   . 

14  British  Agencj'  for  dis- 

semination of  inform- 
atioii  in  England 
lo   British     Committee    of 
the     National      Con- 
gress  94,  344, 
M.   (17)   W.C-  Bannerji 
„     (18)   Surendranath 

Bannerji 
Sc.  (17)   SirP.M.Mehta 
„    (17)  P.  A  n  a  n  d  a 

Charlu    . 
„    (17)   Madan  Mohan 

Malaviya 
„    (17)   Muhurram  Ali 
Chiste      . 
16  British  Contribution   to 
Indian     Expenditure 
222,  304, 
M.   (16)  M.  G.  Chanda- 
varkar     . 


283 

17 

British   Contribution  to 
Milirarv  Expenditure 

318 

158,     263,    286,    304, 

303 

348,   389,  411, 
M.   (13)    Baikuntha- 

435 

483 

nath  Sen 

2.56 

„     (17)   Dixit 

342 

503 

,,     (15)  Miss  Garland. 
Sc.   (15)  Bai  kuntha- 

295     . 

497 

nath  Sen 

269 

497 

„    (17)   C.  Y.  Chinta- 

460 

niani 

342 

„    (13)  .laishi  Ram     . 

256 

Spp.  (15)    Gyaneshwara 

451 

Shastri    . 
.,    (1.5)   H  a  r  i       Ram 

296 

56] 

Panday    . 

296 

„    (15)  Patvardlian 

296 

452 

„    (17)  Mr.  Smedley  . 

342 

452 

18 

British   Sessions  of  the 

Congress  proposed     . 

120 

452 

M.     (6)  Norendranath 

452 

Sen  . 
Sc.       ,,     S  a  1  i  g  r  a  m 

116 

452 

Singh 
Sp.       „     Viraragava- 

116 

chariar    . 

116 

308 

19 

British  Sessions  of  the 
Congress     postponed 

1.39, 

160 

372 

2(J 

Cadet  Corps  Formation 

338 

348, 
M.   (17)    Dr.     Sarat    K. 

367 

364 

Mallick  . 

342 

338 

Sc.   (17)  Muhurram  Ali 

Chiste     . 

342 

338 

Spp.  (17)  K.  B.  Varma  . 

342 

21 

Calcutta  Municipal  Act 

338 

repeal 
M.    (15'    Surendranath 

305 

338 

Bannerji 
Sc.  (15)   Nasir-ud-d  i  n 

297 

Kamur-u  d-din 

299 

325 

22 

Central  Congress  Com- 
mittee for  each  Pro- 

318 

vince 

288 

TKDEX    TO    RESOLUTIONS 


623 


369 


362 
362 


362 


31 


90 


23  Civilian    Judges     to  be 

rephiced     by   trained 
lawyers 
M.   (18)  JogendraJiatli 

Mukerji 
Sc.  (18)  A.  M.  Advani  . 
Sp.  (18)   Hardeoram 

N  a  n  a  b  h  a  i 
Haridas 

24  Claim  to   Committal   to 

Sessions  Courts  in- 
stead of  Trial  by  Ma- 
gistrates 33,  71,  92, 
117,     138,     158,    177, 

202,  227,  246,  371,  391 
M.     (8)  G-.S.  Khaparde   151 

25  Commission  to  enquire 

into  the  best  method 
of  introducing  repre- 
sentative institutions 

26  Committee  on    address 

to  Mr.  Bradlaugh 
M.     (5)   Pherozeshah 
M.  Mchta 
(5)  Pt.Ayodhya- 

uath 
(5)  John  Adam 

27  Committee    on    British 

Sessions  of  the  Con- 
gress. 

28  Committee  on  Continu- 

ance or  otherwise   of 

the     Congress     until 

after      tlic       British 

Session 

M.     (7)     Surendranath 

Bannerji 

W.C.  Bannerji   131 

Sc.      „      Ayodhyanath     132 

29  Committee    on     Indus- 

tries 

30  Committee  on  Petition 

to  Parliament    . 
M.  A  Nandy 

Sc.  Kaliprasanna 

Kanyanisharada  153 


Sc. 


Spp. 


134 


13-^ 


123 


3.50 


155 
153 


31  Committee    on     Public 

Service  question        .     32 

32  Committee    on      Rules 

51,  289,  413,  470 

33  Communication  of  Reso- 

lutions to  all  Political 
Associations       .  .14 

M.    (3)    A.     0.    Hume 

34  Communication  of  Draft 

Rules     to     Standing 
Committees  52,     94, 

205,  222 
Sc.    (3)   Trailok-yanath 

Mitra    \         .51 

35  Communicaticm    of  Re- 

solutions to  tlie  Vice- 
roy 34, 53, 73 

36  Conciliation  Boards     .     526 
M.  (25)   G.     K.     Deva- 

dhar         .         .  519 
Sc.  (25 )  R  a  m  k  u  m  a  r 

Goenka   .         .  519 

37  Confirmation     of     pre- 

vious Resolutions  29, 
71,90,  117,  157,  177, 
202,  227,  246,  265, 
289,  308,  325,  351, 
371,  392,  438,  470,  523 
M.(  11,12)  Ali  Muham- 
mad B  h  i  ni  j  i 

221,2.37 
„    (16)   N.  G.  Chanda- 

varkar     .  .318 

„  (21)  G.  K.  Gokhale  431 
„  (14)  Grubb  .  .  283 
„       (5)  K  a  1  i  c  h  a  ran 

Bannerji.  .     81 

„    (19)  Lai     M  o  h  a  n 

Ghose      .  .  385 

,,    (15)   M  u  h  a  m  m  ad 

Sajjid  Hussain  302 
„    (13)  C.  Sankaran 

Nair         .         .  257 
„     (18)  S  u  r  endra- 

nath   Bannerji  364 
„    (17)  D.  E.  Wacha  .   .503 


624 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Sc.  (24)  John  Adam  .  283 
„      (5)  X.   G.  Chanda- 

varkar     .  .81 

„  (15)  Y.  Chaudhuri  .  302 
„    (12)  N   i   b   a  r  a  n 

Chandradas  .  238 
„  (11)  X.  M.  Samarfch  222 
Spp.  (14)   Habibullah 

Sahib       .  .  283 

,,    (lo)   Krishna     Bal- 

deo  Varma  .  302 
„  (15)  S.  K.  Xair  .  302 
„    (14)  A.    C.    Partha- 

sarathy  Xaidu  283 
,,  (11)  Sautjavani  .  222 
„  (5)  S.  B.  Senkaran  81 
„  (15)  SvedAliUsab.  302 
Sp.  (8)  Abdiil  Qudar .  151 
,,   (10)  Bishan     Xara- 

vandhar  .  .195 

„  (8)  E.  T.  Evans  .  151 
„     (8)  Oudh       Behari 

Lai.  .         .    151 

„      (8)  B.  S.    Sahasra- 

buddhe    .  .151 

„     (8)  Sheik   Hussaii.   151 

38  Congratulations  to 

1  W.  S.  Caine       .  .  327 

2  A.  O.  Hiime        .  .  489 

3  Sir  William   Wedder- 

burn  .  .  .  489 

4  Qneen-E  m  press 

Victoria  .  .      29,243 

M.   (16)  X.  (t.  Chanda- 

varkar    .  .319 

„  (23)  G.K.Gokhale  483 
„     (12)   Maharaja      of 

Darbhanga      .   233 
Sc.  (12)  Prince  Zaigam- 

ud-dowlah       .   233 
Sp.  (23)   Mr.  Clark        .   483 
,,    (12)  Vasudeva  Rao 

Harihar  .  233 

39  Constitution  nnd  Rules 

73,  94,  205,  222,  306, 

322,  413,  544.  .590 


M.  (26)  Bhupendranath 

Basu        .  .  .537 

(29)  „      .  .  583 

„    (20)  Sir  Henry  Cot- 
ton ".         .  406 
„    (11)  Ghosal     .  .211 
„    (16)  R.  X.  Mudhol- 

kar  .  .313 

,,    (14)  Ratnasabhapati 

Pillai       .  .  282 

,,    (15)  Roiuesh  Chan- 
dra Dutt  .  299 
„       (3)  Trilokyanath  .     38 
„     (10)  Alfred    Webl> .   197 
Sc.    (3)  Hamid        AH 

Kliau       .  .     39 

„  (11)  Joshi  Ram  .  211 
„  (16)  V.  K.  Xambier  313 
„    (14)   Surendranath 

Bannerji.         .   282 
Spp.  (14)  A  s  h  w  i  n  i 

Kumar  Dutt  .  282 
„  (3)  W.  S.  (lantz  .  39 
„    (14)  M.  V.  Joshi     .  282 

40  Cooper's    Hill    College 

a  n  d     Roorki     324, 

371,  :f91 
M.  (16)  J.  Choudhuri  .  319 
Sc,  (16)  A.    C.  Partha- 

sarthy  Xaidu  .  319 
Sp.(16)   S.  M.  Paranjpe  319 

41  Cotton  Excise  Duty  197, 

227,  370,  545 
M.  (10)  (11)(18)D.  B. 
Wacha        184, 

221,  363 
„  (26)  D.  A.  Khare  .  538 
Sc.  (11)   P.    An  an  da 

Charlu  .  .  221 
„    (18)  Seth    Mangal- 

das  Girdhardas  363 
„    (10)  A.      Sabhapati 

Mudaliyar  .  184 
,,     (26)  Lala       Govnr- 

dhandas  .  538 

Spp.  (10)  Tulsi   Ram       .    184 


INDEX    TO    RESOLUTIONS 


625 


42  Council  Reform,  Resju- 
lations  and  modifi- 
cations      494,       525, 

546,  568 
M.  (25)   Satish  Chandra 

Bannerji  .   518 

„    (24)  Surendrauath 

Bannerji  .  494 

„    (28)  Syed   Muham- 
mad        .         .  56i 
Sc.(24)  L.  A.  Goviuda- 

raghava  Tver  .  496 
„    (25)  Tej      Bahadur 

Sapru      .         .  518 
Spp.  (25)  M.       Adinara- 

yana  Ij'ah  .  518 
„  (24)  A  Choudhuri  .  496 
,,    (24)  Grauga   Prasad 

Varma  .  .  496 
„    (24)  G  o  k  a  r  n  a  t  h 

Misra  .  .  496 
,,    (24)   H  a  riscliandra 

Yishandas.  .  496 
„  (24)  Harnam  Das  .  496 
„  (24)  J.  B.  Petit  .  496 
„  (24)  Rajpal  Kane  .  496 
,,   (24)   Rambuj     Dutt 

Choudhuri  .  496 
„   (25)   S  a  d  i  q     A  1  i 

Khan       .  .  518 

„   (25)   Sheik  Fiaz       .   518 
„   (25)   Surendrauath 

Bannerji  .  518 
„  (25)  Syed  Hasan  .  518 
„  (25)  Yusuf  Khau  .  518 
„  (25)    Harischandra 

Vishandas        .  518 
43   Creation     of    the    Pro- 
vince  of    Beliar    and 
Orissa  .         .   543 

M.  (26)  Tej    Bahadur 

Sapru  .  .  525 
Sc.  (26)  Par  ameswara 

Lai  .  .  535 

Spp.     ,,     Auanda     Cha- 

ran  Rai    .         .  535 


Spp.  (26)  Math    Bandhu 

Guha       .         .  535 
„     A     Choudhuri  535 

44  Criminal  Procedure, 

addition  of  powers  to 
the  Police  and  grant 
of  discretionary 
powers  to  Magistrates 

267, 284 
M.  (13)  John  Adam  .  262 
,,    (14)   C.  Jambulinga 

Mudaliar  .   274 

Sc. (14)  Tarapadu  Ban- 
nerji       .         .   275 
Spp.  (14)   K.  P.  Kavya 

Bisharad  .  275 

„  (14)   T.Venkata- 

subba  Iyer       .  275 

45  Currency  Question  157, 

288,  304,  350,  366 

M.  (18)  V  i  thai  das 

D  a  m  o  dardas 

Thakersay       .   360 

„    (H)  (14)  (15)    b.  E. 

W  a  c  h  a    151, 

281,  296 
Sc.  (15)  Rama&wami     .   296 
„  (15)   Sitaram  Seth  .  296 
„  (14) (18)  G.  Subra- 

mania  Iyer  281,  360 
Spp.    (8)  Captain  Banon  151 
„     (8)    Bhagirathi 

Prasad     .  .  151 

„   (18)   S    o   r  a  b  j  i 

Karaka  .         .    360 

46  Death  of  : 

1  P    AnandaCharlu      .  489 

2  Ananda   Mohan  Bose  458 

3  Dr.   K.   N.  Bahadurji  287 

4  W.   C.   Bonnerji  .  458 

5  Pt.      Bishambarnath  584 
5a    Bishnu  Pa  da  Chat- 
ter ji  .         .         .         584 

6  Charles:  Bradlaugh    .   140 

7  Badruddin     'I'yabjee.  458 

8  Bunsilal   Siiio-h.    '      .  489 


626 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


i» 

W.   8.  Caine       . 

386 

M.  (23)  Rash  Behari 

10 

Dayal  Singh 

284 

Ghose 

483 

u 

Desai,  Ambalal 

„    (18)  (22)  Surendra- 

Sekarlal    . 

584 

nath    Bannerji 

12 

Dig-by,   William 

409 

358 

456 

13 

DuttjRomesh  Chandra  502 

„    (:;^8)   Syed    Muham- 

14 

Edward  VII      . 

520 

mad  Bahadur. 

554 

15 

Gr  a  n  g  a   P  r  a  s  a  t 

(17) (25)      D.      E. 

Varma. 

584 

Wacha        338 

512 

16 

Ghosal,  J. 

562 

Sc.  (22)   Sir  Balachand- 

17 

Gladstone,    W.  E.      . 

284 

ra  Krishna 

486 

18 

Hardinge,  Lady,  anc 

47   Delegates' number  fixed 

94 

her  eldest  Son 

584 

48  Delegates   to    England 

19 

Jaisi  Ram 

328 

95,120,412 

569 

20 

Kalicharaii  Bannerji . 

489 

(a)  G  o  k  h  a  1  e  as  dele- 

21 

Lai  Mohan  Giiose 

502 

gate    .         .         .439 

22 

Maharaja       of     Dar- 

M.  (21)  M.  V. Joshi     . 

431 

bhanga. 

284 

„    (28)   Syed    Muham- 

23 

Maharaja  of    Mysore 

202 

mad    Bahadur 

561 

24 

Queen-Empress   Vic- 

,,   (21)  K.  Ve  n  k  ata 

toria 

346 

Rao 

431 

25 

Raja  of  Raninad 

384 

„     (20)  Sir  Wi  lliam 

26 

Ranade,  Justice 

344 

Wedderburn  . 

402 

27 

P.  Rangiah  Naidu      . 

365 

Sc.  (21)   Sister    Ni  ve- 

28 

Lord  Ripon 

502 

dita 

4:il 

29 

Sayani,    R.    M. 

365 

„   (21)  J.   N.   Roy       . 

431 

30 

Smith,    Samuel. 

462 

„  (21)  S.  Sinha" 

422 

31 

Lord  Stanley 

386 

„  (20)  B.  G.  Tilak    . 

402 

32 

P.  R.  Sundra  Iyer     . 

562 

„   (21)   C.       Vijayara- 

33 

J.  X.  Tata 

409 

ghavachariar  . 

431 

34 

M.         Veeraragliava 

Spp.(20)  S.   Sinha 

402 

Ghariar 

458 

49  Delegation  fee     .     345, 

373 

3o 

Webb,  Alfred    . 

489 

50  Deputation  to  the  Vice- 

M 

(28)   B  h  upendra- 

i-oy 

nath  Basu 

577 

1     To    present    resolu- 

,, 

(11)  A.  M.  Bose       . 

274 

tions 

204 

jj 

(16)  N.  G.  Ghanda- 

2  To     represent    Land 

varkar 

320 

Tenure  grievances  . 

304 

„ 

(20)   Sir  H  e   u  i-  y 

3       re      the        Separa- 

Cotton    . 

401 

tion   of  Judicial  and 

„ 

(23)  Dada  bh  ;ii 

Executiv^e      F  u  n  c- 

Naoroji   . 

477 

tions 

326 

,, 

(19)   Lai    M  o  h  a  n 

4  To      express      desire 

Ghose 

379 

to    co-operate  with 

,j 

(24)   Madan   Mohan 

Government    . 

520 

Malaviya 

502 

M.   (16)  D.  E.  Wacha    . 

318 

INDEX    TO    RESOLUTIONS 


627 


M.  (25)  Sir  Wm.  Wed- 

derburn  .  .  512 
Sc.  (16)  Murlidhar  .  318 
Spp. ,,      Muhurruai  Ali 

Chiste     .  .  318 

51  D  e  pu  tat  ion  oi'D.  E. 

Wacha  to  give  evid- 
ence before  the  Ex- 
penditure Commis- 
sion .  .  ■  249 

52  Economic    Condition  - 

Enquiry      .  850,  365, 

391,  408 
M.  (18)  G.  R  a  s  h  a  v  a 

Iyer         ,  .   359 

Sc.     „      P  e  t  e  r  P  a  u  1 

Pillai       .  .   359 

Spp.  ,,      Bhaishankar 

Nanabhai         .  360 
„      „      V.  R.  Natu       .  360 

53  Education  and  Industry  326 
M.  (16)  LalaLajpatRai  318 
Sc.     „      Dunichand       .  318 

54  Education  Commission 

— adequate       Indian 

representation  .  .  349 

M.  (17)  V.  R.  Pandit    .  342 

Sc.     „     B.   G.  Tilak    .  342 

Spp.  „      A.    Clioudhuri  342 

„      „      M  a  h  e  s  w  a  ri 

Prasad    .  .  342 

55  Education,   increase   in 

expenditure  72,  92, 
117,138,159,179,202, 
227,407,437,461,458, 

507,  524 
M.  (4)  John  Adam  .  68 
„       (h)   Brijendranath 

Seal  .  .152 

„    (23)  A.    Choudhuri  483 
„    (22)  Desai,     Amba- 

lal  Sekharlal   .  453 
,,      (7)    Herambachan- 

dra  Mitra        .    130 
,,     (12)  Kalicharan 

Bamierji  .    239 

47 


M.  (24)  Madan    Mohan 

Malaviya  .  506 

„  (9)  M.B.Nam  Joshi  173 
„  (20)  D.  G  Padhya  399 
„  (25)  A.  B.  Patro  .  519 
Sc.  (23)  K.  G.  Desai  .  483 
„  (7)  G.  K.  Gokhale  131 
„    (8)  Hari  Prasad 

Chatter  ji  .  152 
„     (8)    Herambachan- 

dra  Mitra  .152 
„    (20)   R.  P.     Karan- 

dikar       .  .  399 

„      (9)  N  i  b  a  r  a  u 

Chaudi-a  Das  .  172 
„    (25)  Pulin  Chandra 

Das         .  .  519 

„    (24)  Raghbar  Dayal  483 
,,    (17)  Shivaram   Ma- 

hadev  Paranjpe  339 
„  (4)  K.  T.  Telang  .  69 
Spp.  (2a)    Devi  Prasad 

Sukla  .  .  519 
„  „  V.  P.  Dixit  .  518 
„      (8)  Hari  Prasad 

Chatterji  .  152 
„    (22)   Harischandra- 

Visliandas  .  453 
„  (8)  K.  V.  Joshi  .  152 
„  (22)  S.  V.  Khare  .  453 
„    (23)  Dr.       Nilratan 

Sarkar     .  .  483 

„    (22)  M.  K.    Padhya  453 
„       „      Parameshwar- 

das  .         .  453 

„       „      G.  A.  Patel      .  453 
„    (25)  Ram    K  a  n  t  a 

Malaviya  .  519 
„  (9)  Ram  Lalakya.  172 
„      (4)  G.  Subramania 

Iyer  .  .  68 
„    (22)  Vittamlal    Ti-i- 

vedi         .  .  453 

Sp.(20)   Y.    C  hin  ta- 

mani       .  .  399 

„      „      H.  S.  Gour      .  399. 


628 


HOW    INDIA   WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Sp.  (20)  Gr.    A.  Natesan 

400 

56 

Education — officialising 

of       ...          . 

437 

M.  (21)  H  e  r  a  m  b  a- 

chandra    Mai- 

tra 

428 

Sc.    „      D.   G.    Padhya 

430 

Spp.  „      N  a  r  e  s  c  lian- 

dra  Sen  . 

430 

„       „      Nilaratau  Sar- 

kar 

430 

„      „     M.  K.  Patel     . 

430 

„       „      Rama  n  a  n  d  a 

C  hatter  ji 

430 

57 

Education — State    con- 

trol   .... 

72 

58 

Educational    Service 

245, 265 

371 

M.  (12)  A.  M.    Bose     . 

234 

Sc.     „      P.    A  n  a  n  d  a 

Charlu    . 

235 

59 

Election  of  nienijjers  to 

British  Parliament    . 

412 

111.  (20)  S.  Sinha. 

406 

;Sc.    „     V.  P.  Vidya     . 

406 

.'60 

Election  of  University 

Fellows 

324 

M.  (16)  Lala    Dwarka- 

das 

317 

Sc.     „      Bepiu     Behari 

Bose 

317 

„       ,,      Hemchandra 

Rai 

317 

„     Rustam    Cama 

317 

61 

Employment  of  Indians 

in  Public  Service  136, 

324,  348,  369,  386, 

31.  (26)  Bishen    Nara- 

406 

yan  Dhar 

542 

„    (20)  V.  K  r  i  s  h  n  a- 

swamv  Iyer    . 

403 

„    (24)  N.  M.Samarth 

500 

„    (18)  G.  K.  Setna     . 

563 

„    (25)  Sir    S.    Subra- 

mania   Iyer     . 

513 

M.  (16)  (17)  Sureudra- 
nath  Bannerjee 

316,  341 

(19)  D.  E.  Wacha    .  379 
Sc.  (17)    (18)      Abdul 

Kasim         342,  373 
(21)  Bishen      Xara- 
A'an  Dhar 

(24)  K.  B.  Desai,     . 
„  (20)  Madun    Mohan 

Mala  viva 

(25)  B.  N.   Sarnia    . 
(16,  19)  (t.    Subra- 

niaiiia  Iyer  317,381 
Spp.(l6)  Rambha]  Datta  317 

(20)  Abdul  Kasim  .  399 
„      Budi-uddin   Ty- 

abjee 

(21)  K.     R.      Guru- 
swamv  Iyer     . 

„     3.  B.   Petit 
,,     J.  Simeon 

61  (a)   Employment         of 

Indians  in  the 
G  e  n  e  r  a  1  Coun- 
cil and  House 
of  Commons 

M.  „  G.  Srinivasa 
Rao 

Sc.  (21)  S.  R.    Das 

Spp.  (21)  Fazil  Hussain  423 

62  Enquiry     into     Bengal 

Government's  Order 
prohibiting  Public 
Servants  from  attend- 
ing Congress 

M.  (6)  Man  a  Mohan 
Ghose 

Sc.      „     Yule 

63  Exchange  Compensation 

Allowance    180,    202, 

22H,  247,  ;^71,  391 
M.  (11)  Ambikacha- 

ran  Mazumdar  220 
„     (9)  S  u  r  e  n  d  r  a- 

nath    Bannerji   174 


424 

500 


404 
513 


399 

424 
424 
424 


433 


423 
423 


118 


115 
115 


INDEX    TO    RESOLUTIONS 


629 


Sc.    (9)  W.    A.     Cham- 
bers ;  .   175 
„  (LI)  A.    C.    Partha- 

sarathv   Naidu  220 

Spp.  (9)  D.    E.'  Wacha  175 

64  Executive  aud    the 

Bench  .    179,  547,  563 

M.  Ananda  Charlul73 

„  Pravas   Chitra 

Mitra      .  .  541 

„  Syed   Muham- 

mad Bahadur     561 
Sc.  Atal    Chandra 

Rai  .  .  542 

,,  K  a  1  ic  h  a  r  a  n 

Bannei'ji. 
Sp.  J.  Choudhuri 

,,  Mohanlal. 

65  Executi%''P   Councils  for 

JIadras  and    Bombay 

245,  266,  28'7,  305 
M.   (14)  V.  Krishna- 

swaniy   Iyer 
„    (12)   G.  Parameswa- 

ram  Pillai 
„    (15 1   Romesh   Caun- 

der  Dutt 
„    (13)  N.  Subba  Rao 
Sc.  (12)  Ali  Muhammad 
Bhimji 
„    (13  1  N.  C.  Kelkar 
„    (14     Prof.  Paranjpe  282 

66  Executive   Councils 

for  U.  P.,  Punjab, 
Eastern  Bengal,  As- 
sam, Burma,  502,  522, 

547,  568 
M.   (26)    Bishan      Nara- 

yandhar  .         .  541 
„       „      S.  Sinha    .  .   541 

„    (28)  Syed      Muham- 
mad .         .  561 
„    (24)  Tej  Bahadur 

Sapru.      .  .  496 

Sc      „     Lakshmi     Nar- 

avan  .  497 


173 
173 
173 


282 


241 


301 

258 


241 

258 


Sc(26)  Tej       Bahadur 

Sapru      .  .  541 

Spp.  (24)  Abdul  Qusim  .  497 
,,      ,,      Lala       Hakini- 

chand      .  .  497 

67  Expenditure— Par  I  ia- 

mentary  enquiry  199, 

222,  249,  264,  525 
M.   (11)   Baikunthanath 

Sen  .  .212 

„    (12)  Bishambar- 

nath  .  .  242 

,,       (7)   K  e  n  n  v  d  y  , 

Pringle    .         .   125 
„    (13)   Madan     ]\Iohan 

Malaviya  .  256 

„  (25)  N.  M.  Samarth-518 
„  (22)  B.  N.  Sarma  .  448 
„  (26)  D.  E  Wacha  .  537 
Sc.  (2.5)  X.  A.  Dravid  .512 
„  (12)  a.  K.  Gokhale.  243 
„  (13)  H  i  r  e  n  dr  a 

nath  Dutt         .  257 
„  (20)  J  a  m  1)  u  1  i  n  - 

ga  Mudaliyar.  412 

„  (22)  (t.  a.  Natesan.  449 

„  (26)  Pramathanath  .  537 

Spp.  (22)  N.  M.  Ranade.  449 

Sp.  (12)  W.  S.  Caine    .  242 

„  (11)  Madan    Mohan 

Malaviya.  .   212 

„  (12)  Raja      Rampal 

Singh       .         .  242 

68  Expenditure— Retrench- 

ment 136,  223,  459,  545 

69  Extension    of   Lord 

Hardinge's    Term  of 
office  ,  .  .589 

M.   (29)  Bhupendra- 

nath  Basu        .  583 

70  FamIxNE  Commission  199,  26S 

71  Famine,    Poverty  a  n  d 

Remedies     247,    268, 

308,  323,  346 
M.  (15)  Madan  Mohan 

Malaviva    .  302 


630 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


M.  (13)  E  a  man  j  ulu 

Niiiilii 
„    (13)  C.        Siinkaran 

Nair 
„  (16,17)  G.       Subra- 
maiiia  Iyer  313, 
„    (12)  Sureiidranath 

Baniierji 
Sc.    „     P.  A  11  a  11  d  a- 
charlu 
„  (15)  Madaii     Mohan 

Malaviya 
„  (16)  R.     N. '  M  u  d- 

liolkar 

„  (13)  A.  S.  Sathe       . 

„  (17)  N.  M.   Saniarth 

Spp.(16,  17)  B  enj  ani- 

in,  Joseph  ;<  14, 

,,   (17)  J  a  m  b  n  n  a  t  h 

Moziimdar 
„  (16)  Muhuriuni    Ali 

Chisto      . 
,,  (l7)  N.   K.  R  a  ma- 
SNA  ami   Iyer 
Sp.  (15)  Chintamani 
,,  (16)  Churamaiii 
„  (15)   Sheik    llussain 
„  (16)  B.  G.   Tilak       . 
Forced  Labour  and  Sii])- 


M 


I  111 


Sc. 


I) 
Kanakva 


(SO   Laia 
Sari 
,,     Lala 
lal    . 
Foreign       Telegrajihic 
Press  Message  Bill    . 
M.  (15)  S.  V.   Bhate     . 


Sc. 

74  Forest 
203, 

.VI. 


Dac)      Biaz-ud- 

din  Alimeii 

139,     159,    17K, 

226,    2H9,    3U9, 

351,371, 

(h)  R.  r.    Kaiandi- 

kar 
(7)  P  e  t  e  r     I'.iil 
Pillai 


262 

258 
341 
238 
238 
302 

313 

262 
341 

341 

341 

314 

341 
302 
314 
302 
314 

180 

175 

175 

305 
297 

297 

.•:;91 
1  53 
132 


Sc.    (8)  P.   K  e  s  h  a  V  a 

Pillai        .         .   153 

Sp  (7)  S.  B.  Bhate  .  133 
„  (9)  Meghani  Ram  170 
„     (7)  Nmitkar  .   133 

75  Funds   alhjtted    for  ex- 

penses of  the  British 
Committee  and 
Indian  General  Sec- 
retary 94,  120,  139, 
160,  161,  181,  205, 
228,     249,   269,    290, 

307,  327,  391,  413 
M.  (16)  N.  G.  Chanda- 

varkar     .         .319 

76  Funds     for       Congress 

work  95,  391 

77  General  Booth  — Tele- 

gram in  reply    .  .139 

78  Government        ajipeals 

against  acquittals      .   200 

79  Grievances — Represen- 

tation to  the  House 
of  Commons  .  94,117 
M.  (5)  W.  C.  Bannerji  88 
„  (6)  W.  S.  Caine  .112 
Sc.  .,  R.  D.  Mehta  .  112 
„  (5)  Shurf-ud-din  .  88 
Spp.(6)   Yule  .         .112 

Sp.    (5)   I\Iadaii     Mohan 

Malaviya  .      88 

80  HiuH    Court  for  Panjab 

177,   201,     247,    265, 

371,  391,  438 
High   Courts,  vide  Exe- 
cutive and  the  Bench 

81  High    Prices    of    Food- 

stuffs .  .    488,  .506 

.M.  (23)   C.  K  a  r  u  n  a- 

kiira  Menon     .  483 
„  (24)   Peter  Paul  Pillai  .501 
Sc.      „      V.  G.  Kale        .   501 
„    (23)  A.  C.    ]^artha- 

sarthy  Naidu  .  483 
Sj>jj.  (24)  G  o  V  i  ndshni 

Sliarma    .  .  5ul 


INDEX    TO    RESOLUTIONS 


631 


Spp.  (24)  D.  E.  Wucha  .  501 

82  Homage    to  the  Crown 

on    the     DfcsiKion    of 

1  Edward     VIFs     Ac- 

cession .         .         .  344 

2  The    Delhi    Durbar  .  364 

3  5  0th       Anniversary 

of  the  Queen's  Pro- 
clamatif)n       .         .  484 

4  George  V,  Accession 

of  ...   520 

M.   (26)    Bishen      Nara- 

van  Dhar  .  532 

„    (23)  Kash        Behari 

Ghose       .         .  476 
,,    (18)  Surendranath 

Bannerji  .   358 

,,    (25)   Sir        William 

Wedderburn    .   512 

83  Ixco.me-Tax  —  Raising 

of  the  taxable  mini- 
mum 53,72,92,  117, 
137,    157,    177,     202, 

227,  289,  309,  351 
Indebtedness    of    Pea- 
santry : — vide       Eco- 
nomic Condition 
M.  (20)  H.  S.  Dixit       .  401 
Sc.     „      V.    C.    Desika- 

chariar    .  .401 

Spp.  ,,      Joseph    Benja- 
min .         .   401 
,,       ,,       P  a  r  V  a  t  h  i 
S   h   a  n   k  a  r 
Choudhuri        .  401 
,,               Madan   Mohan 

Malaviva  67 

„      (8)  G.  S.    khapar- 

de    .  .  151 

84  Indentured  labour  567,  588 
M.  (29)  F.  G.  Natesan     583 

„    (28)  Syed     Muham- 
mad .  .  561 
Sc   (29)  T  o  t  a   r  a  m 

Senadhya         .  583 

85  India   (newspaixM-)   344,  372 


M.  (17)  W.  C.  Bonnerji  338 
,,    (IS)  Siirendranath 

Bannerji  .  364 

Sc.  (17)  P.  M.  Mehta     .  338 
Spp.  ,,     Ananda  Chai-lu  338 
,,     Madan    Mohan 

Malaviya  .  338 

,,      ,,     Muhurrum    AH 

Chiste      .         .  338 
India    and  the  General 
Election— r/(7c    Dele- 
gation of  Gokhale 

86  India   Council — 

1  Abolition     13,      198, 

247,  265,  289 

2  Reform      .  .     564,  587 
M.  (11)  Chiplonkar       .      10 

„  (28)  M.  4.  Jinnah  .  556 
,,     A.    S.  Krishna 

Rao  .         .  587 

„  (10)  Eardley  Nor- 
ton .  .  187 
Sc.  (1)  Ananda  Char lu  10 
„  (29)  K.    M.    Chaud- 

huri  .  .   587 

„  (10)  R.   N.  Mudhol- 

kar  .  .  189 

„  (28)  X.  M.  Samarth  556 
Sp[i.  „     Gopal   .Thamat- 

mal.  .  .  557 

,,       ,,     A-    S.    Krishna 

Rao.  .  556 

„  „  P.  C.  Mitra  .  587 
,,       ,,     S  u  r  e  n  d  r  a  - 

nath  Bannerji  557 
Sp.    (1)  P  h  e  r  o  z  e  - 

shah  Mehta      .      11 

87  Indian  Congress    Com- 

mittee for  1900  .   306 

Indian     Congress  Com- 
mittee for' 1901  .  329 

88  Indian    Council's    Act 
1    Submission       of         a 

scheme       to        Mr. 
Bradlaugh  f  o  r 

drafting  a  bill  .     90 


632 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOxt    FREEDOM 


PAGE 


2 

Bradlaugh's        B  i  1 

approved 

117 

3 

Indian        Council's 
Act     disappointing 

154, 176 

,202 

4 

Amendment 

521 

M 

.     (y)  AnandaCharlu 

144 

, 

(26)  A.  Choudhuri  . 

540 

Sc 

.     „     V.  Naidu 

(8)  S  u  r  e  n  d  r  a  - 

540 

nath  Bannerji. 

144 

Spi: 

,,     Hafiz  Muham- 
mad    Abdul 

Rahim 

140 

„ 

„     M.       B.     Nam 

Joshi 

146 

(26)  Rambhuj  Dutt 

Choudhuri 

540 

,, 

(8)  Raja      Rampal 

Singh      . 

146 

J, 

„     S  u  r  e  n  d  r  a  - 

nath  Bannerji. 

144 

„ 

„     Umashankar  . 

146 

jj 

„     Wahab-ud-din. 

146 

89  Indian     Emigrants     to 

British  Colonies 

408 

90  Indian       Expeditionary 

Force 

585 

M 

(29)  A.  P.  Patro      . 

578 

Sc. 


Spp. 


J  o  g  e  n  d  r  a  - 
nath  Bose        .   578 
G.  K.  Gadkil  .  578 
,,       ,,     Iqbal      Narain 

Musaldan         .   578 
„     Dr.    V.  Praka- 
sa  Rao    .  .  578 

91  Indian  lawyers'  appoint- 

ment   to    the     Priv;^' 
Council       .    347,  371,  391 
M.  (17)  K  a  1  i  c  h  aran 

Bannerji 
Sc.      „     P.     S.    Siva 
swami  Iyer 

92  Indian  Mines 
1    Omissions      in       the 

Hill. 


340 
340 


329 


2  Minincr  Schools  .  351 

M,    (16)  D  h  u  p  e  n  dra- 

nath   Jiasu      .  321 
Sc.      „     J.  Ghosal        .  322 

93  Indian  Mintj  .  .180 
M.  (9)  D.  E.  Wacha  .  173 
Sc.       „     R,  P.  Karandi- 

kar  .         .         .  173 

94  Indians     in    the     Colo- 

nies 

1  S.  Africa    204,     224, 

246,  265,  287,  328, 
347,  366,  387,  435, 
459,  486,    504,  521, 

549,  562 

2  Canada  .  .  .563 
M.    (16)  N.G.  Chandra- 

varkar     .  .  320 

„  (-26)  J.  Choudhuri  .  542 
„  (Iv.)  U.  L.  Desai  .  382 
„     (17)  Gandhi     .  .  340 

„  (24)  G.  K.  Gokhale  499 
„    (2b)  L.  A.  Govinda- 

ragiiava     Iyer  552 
„    (23)  Madanjit  .  425 

,,       ,,     Mustir     Hasan 

Kidwai    .  .   478 

„     (28)  Nand       Singh 

Sikra       .  .   557 

„  (25,  29)  G.    A.  Xate- 

san  513,  583 

.,    (11,  12,  14)  G.  Para- 

m  e  s  w  a  r  a  m 

Pillai  217,  286,  279 
,,     (22)   P.    R.  Sundara 

Iver  .  .  448 

„  (18)  D.  P.  Thakore  360 
„  (10)  Alfred  Webb  .  197 
Sc.  (12)  V.  N.  Apte  .  237 
„     (23,  i6)  C.  Y.  Chin- 

tamani  479,  542 
„     (24)  D  i  p  n  a  i-  a  i  n 

Singh  .  .  499 
„  (18)  Krishna  Iyer  .  360 
,,     (2b)   Krishna 

Kumar   Mitra.   558 


INDEX    TO    EESOLDTIONS 


633 


Sc. 


Spp. 


(2h)  Lala  L  a  j  p  a  t 

Spp.  (18)  Suma,  Hafiz    . 

360 

Rai 

554    ! 

„    (19)  V.  C.  Vasudeva 

(25)  Maiiilal     Doc- 

Pillai      . 

382 

tor  . 

513 

95 

Indians  on    Committee 

(14)  R.D.Nagarkar 

2bO 

of    Agricultural 

(19)8.  K.  Nair 

382    i 

Banks 

328 

(17)  A.  Filial 

341 

M.    (16)  Thakur  Das     . 

320 

(2y)  S.  Prasad  Basu 

583    1 

Sc.     „      Gyaneswara 

(21)  B.  N.  Sarma   . 

425    i 

Sastri 

320 

(2v)  H.  A.  Wadia  . 

448    i 

96 

Industries 

586 

(2b)   Ayab  Khan     . 

558 

M.    (29)  K.  R.V.Krish- 

o 

(21)  C.  Y.    Chinta- 

na  Rao    . 

581 

niani 

448  ; 

Sc.      „     V.  G.  Kale      . 

581 

(23)    Clark,  Dr.      . 

479 

Sp.      ,,     J.  C.    Chakra- 

(2L)  Day  Eattan     . 

449 

varti 

581 

(25)  Debi  Prasad    . 

513 

„     G.  K.  D  e  V  a  - 

(23)  U.  L.  Desai      . 

479 

d)jar 

582 

„      G.  K.  Gadgil    . 

479    1 

„       „     S.  K.  Nair 

582 

(18)  Ghulam  Hasan 

97 

Interpellation 

225 

Muakhani 

S60 

98 

Judicial    Service  — Re- 

(23) Ibrahim    Noor 

- 

forms     in     200,    436, 

dien  Muqiiadan 

l479 

507,  521, 

547 

(24)  Iswara  Charan 

499 

M.    (25)  Jogendranath 

„     L  a  k  s  h  ni  a  n 

Mukerji  . 

514 

Panday   . 

499 

„     (10)  N.  Subba  Rao. 

191 

{2'J)    Lakshminara- 

Sc.  (25)  Braj  Kishore  . 

514 

sinha 

583 

„    (10)  >; .  G.  Natu      . 

192 

Q^•A)  Lalit       Mohan 

Spp.     ,,     A.  R.  Krishna 

Ghose 

448 

Iyer 

.192 

„       Madanjit 

448 

„    (25)  G.  P.    R  a  m  a  - 

(Z4)   Malik   Girdha- 

swami  Iyer 

514 

rilal 

499 

99 

Law     Membership      in 

(i.6)  Maiiilal  Doctor 

542 

the  Viceroy's  Council 

521 

(lii)  R.  D.  Mehta     . 

237 

100 

Legal    Practitioner's 

(26)  B.  S.  Munji     . 

535 

Bill    .          .          .          . 

225 

(24)  C.  R.  Naidu     . 

499 

M.    (11)  N.  Subba  Rao. 

218 

„     G.  A.  Natfcsan. 

499 

Sc.      ,,     J.  Choudhuri  . 

218 

(25)  R  a  ghunandan 

Spp.      „     M.  V.  Joshi     . 

218 

Prasad    . 

513 

101 

Legislative     Council 

(29)  Raniakanta 

for   C.   P.  and    Berar 

525 

Malaviya 

580 

M.    (25)  Sir    W.    Wed- 

(23)  Bambhuj   Dutt 

derbum  . 

519 

Choudhuri 

488 

102 

Legislative    Council 

(14)  Raniesam 

280 

for     Panjab   71,   119, 

(26)  Soiabji  Sapurj 

i  542 

177,     21,2,     247,    269, 

(lb)  Siileinian 

3tO 

290,  309 

,438 

684 


HOW    INDIA    WKOUOHT    FOR    FKEEDOM 


Sc 


(14)   A.  M.  Bos(.       .  283 

(b";)  R.  C.  Dutt        .   303 

(S)  Thanakaia  Lai    154 

(lU)   Madan   Mohan 

Malaviva 

00  R    N.  Miidliol- 

kar 

(13)  C.       Saiikaraii 

Nair 
(25)  Sir    W.     Wed- 
derburn   . 
.     (9)  G.  K.  (lokhale 


193 

165 

262 

526 
166 
193 
154 


166 


166 
166 


422 


lU) 


„    (10)  Jaishi  Ram       . 
Spp.     (8)  Murlidhiir 
Sp.     (9)  B  a  i  k  u  n  t  ha- 
nath  Sen 
,,        ,,    Bishen     Nara- 

yandhar  . 

,,        ,,     T.  Kemchand  . 

103  Legislative     Councils, 

R  e  f  o  r  m       a    n   d 

Expansion   of    ]'.^,  29, 

30,  52,  71,  135,    176, 

202,  225,  410,  432,  461 
M.    (21)  J.  Chondlmri  . 
„       (6)  Lai    M  o  h  a  II 

Ghose 
„       (5)  Eardley      Nor- 
ton .  .         .79 
))     (•^;'0    Snrendi-anath 

Rannerji        39,  112 
„       (1,4)  K.  T.   TelasiK 

11,61 
M.A.  (5)  'I'ilak,  B  G.  .  80 
Sc.  (6)  AuandaCharlu  110 
„  (5)  Ajudvlianath  .  79 
„  (7)  R.  C."  Rose  .  125 
„     (21)  L.  A.  (jovinda- 

ragliava  Iver  .  422 
„       (3)   |{ajali     Sir    T. 

MadhavaRao.      40 
7)        i'^)  Suren<iranalli 

Bannerji  .      (il 

,,        (1)   S.  Siil)raU]ai]ia 

Iyer  .  .11 

Sc.A.(8)  (i.   K.  (lokhale      HO 


Spp.  (21)  Ali     Mahomed 

Bhiniji     .  .  422 

,,       (5)  Bepin  Chandra 

Pal.         .  .     80 

„      (6)   Bishan     Nara- 

vandliar.         .    110 
„      (1)  badabhai    Xa- 

oroji         .         .11 
„    (21)  R.  P.  Karandi- 

kar.         .  .  422 

„       ,,      G.   S.    Khapar- 

de    .  .  422 

(5)   L  a  1  a     La j  pat 

Rai  .   "      .80 

,,      (6)   Madan    Mohan 

Malaviya  .   110 

„       „     C.  V.  Naidu     .   llO 
„     (5,  21)  Sure  ndra- 

nath  Bannerji  80,  422 
Sp.   (3,  4,  5)  B  i  s  h  e  n 
Naravandhar 

41,  61,  79 
„  (9)  K.  V.  .loshi  .  166 
„  (3)  A.  Kumar  Dutt  46 
„      (2)   Malik    Bhaga- 

van  Das  .  .19 

.,       (3)   Madan   Mohan 

Malaviya  .     43 

„     C.  Y.  Naidu     .     4<) 
,,       (4)  S.Ramaswaniy 

M  udaliyar        .      62 
,,        ,,     Shiva  Prasad  .     62 
104   Lettres    de  cachet,    266, 

28o,  487,  505 
M.  (24)  A.  Choudhuri.  500 
„    (14)  P.   R.   Sundara 

Iyer         .  .  282 

„    (13)  Surendranath 

Bannerji  .   258 

„    (23)  Syed    Hasan 

Imam  .  4S1 

Se.  (14)  Adam,  .lolm     .  282 
,,     (23)    Biiupendranath 

Basn        .  .  481 

„     (13)    R.  K.  R.  Cai.ia   260 
„    ^24)    IL  S.  Dixit       .  500 


INDEX    TO    RESOLUTIONS 


635 


Spp.(13)  V.  G.  Kale       . 
„       „     P.  K  e  s  h  a  v  a 

Pillai 
..    (24.)  A.   S.    KrinhiiH 
Rao  .         . 

,.    (14)  Xali    iiakslia 

Basil 

„    (13)  XaiKli,    Alfred 

„    (23)  P.   L.  Rajpal   . 

,,      ,,    Tej    B  a  h  a  d  u  r 

Sapru 

105  Liquor  Lecrislation 

M.   (l(i)   Kumar    M.   N. 

Choudhuri 
Sc.      ,,     Lala  Beni  Pra- 
sad 
Local  Option    vide 
Abkari 
I()6  Local  Self-Govemment 

1  Reactionary       m  e  a- 

suj-es 

2  Calcutta       Muni- 

cipal Bill  repeal 

3  Decen  trails  ation 

Commission's       re- 
commendations 

4  S  e  1  f-G  o  V  e  r  n  ment 

461, 
M.  (22)  A.  Choudhuri 
.,  (25)  B.  S.  Gour  . 
„  (14)  G.  S.  Khaparde 
„  (26)  A.  P.  Patro  . 
.,  (2,  2i))  Surendranath 
Bannerji  26, 
MA.  (21)  M.  A.  Jinnah 
Sc.    (2)  N.  G.  Chandra. 

varkar 
„  (14)  J.  Choudhuri  . 
„  (26)  X.  A.  Dravid  . 
„  (22)  L.  A  Govinda- 
raghava  Iver  . 
„     (25)  L.  Rag  ha  V a 

Rao 
,.     (29)   Sadhu      Gana- 

pati 
Sc.A.(22)  Abdnl  Kasini 


260 

Spp.    (22: 

B  o  m  a  n  j  i 

! 

Patel 

4:55 

260 

" 

B.  C.  Maitra  . 

455 

S.  B.  Maitra    . 

455 

500 

,, 

Y.  A.  Pandit  . 

455 

','  (25) 

M.   Ramachan- 

282 

dra  Rao  . 

516 

260 

„   (22) 

A.  Ramanna    . 

455 

482 

„   (14) 

B.    S.  Sahasra- 

buddlic   . 

278 

482 

„   (25) 

S  a  n  k  a  t  a 

327 

Prasad  . 

516 

„  (1^0 

Suwash  Chan- 

318 

dra  Bose 

583 

„      (2) 

Madan  Mohan 

319 

Malaviva 

27 

„    (22) 

Dr.  S.  k.  Mul- 

lick 

455 

107   Lcjyaltv 

to  the  Throne 

585 

M."(2y) 

Surendranath 

286 

Bannerji 

577 

Sc.     „ 

L.  A.  Govinda- 

305 

r  a  g  h  a  V  a 

Iver 

577 

Spp.     „ 

M.    D.    Deva- 

568 

doss 

578 

X.  A.  Dravid  . 

578 

,588 

Gokarannath 

455 

Misra 

578 

515 

G  0  p  a  1  d  a  s 

278 

Chamatmal     . 

578 

537 

.. 

Harikishan 

Sarma    . 

578 

582 

„ 

P.  H.  Mehta  . 

578 

455 

,, 

S.  B.  Upasani. 

578 

108  Madras^ 

Alunicipal  Bill 

27 

condemned 

390 

278 

M    (19) 

Krishna  Xair. 

385 

537 

Sc.      „ 

A     C.  Partha- 

sarathv  Xaidu 

385 

455 

109  Magistrates — grant    ol 

some 

powers  danger- 

516 

ons 

201 

M.  (iCi) 

R.  X.  Mudhol- 

582 

kar 

195 

455 

Sc.     „ 

M.  B.  .Joshi     . 

195 

636 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


10  Medical  Service  :-Sepa-            i 

113 

Membership  in  a 

ration  from  the  Milit- 

condemned   Associa- 

ary, and  Civil  Reorga- 

tion 

488 

nisation  177,201,225, 

114 

Message  of  welcome  to 

245,267,286  289,305, 

T.       R.      H.      The 

348,  370,  506,  523, 549 

Prince   and    Princess 

M.  (25)  Sir  Balachandra 

of  Wales    . 

432 

Krishna           .  517 

115 

Migration  — Inland 

„    (17)  M.N.  BMnnerji  343 

Immigration  Act  249, 

„       (9,)  (10),  (11)  K.N. 

265,  289, 

308 

Bhadnrji    167,  192,  218 

M.   (12)  J  ogindrachan- 

„    (2())  Bishen   Nara- 

dra  Ghose 

240 

viindhar           .  542 

Sc.     „     Be])in    Chan- 

„    (2k)   Erulkar  Salo- 

dra  Pal  . 

240 

nien         .         .  363 

Sp.     „      Rajnni     Ranta 

„    (12)  (14),  (1.5)   Nil- 

Sarkar     . 

240 

rataii     Sarkar 

116 

Military    Colleges     52, 

237,  279,  297 

92,      J 17,     130,    155, 

Sc.  (10)  Ananda  Charlu   193 

177,    202,    227,     246, 

„    (18)  Joseph  Ben- 

323, 349,  367,   505, 

585 

jamin                   363 

M.    (18)  N.    C.     K  e  1- 

„    (14,  15)  T.M.  Nair 

kar 

364 

279,  297 

„      (8)  G.  S.    Khapar- 

„    (17)  Nilaratan  Sar- 

de    . 

151 

rkar         .         .  343 

„    (29)  R.  N.   Mudhol- 

„    (25)  Ranjit  Singh  .  517 

kar 

578 

„    (11)  B.  G.  Tilak      .  218 

Sc.  (18)  .Joseph     B  e  n- 

Spp.  (1^0  M.t;.  Deshmukh  193 

jamin 

364 

„    (25)   H.  D.  Pant       .   517 

„    (29)  J.   Cluuidhuri  . 

579 

„    (24)  Ranjit  Singh       500 

Spp.     „     R.  V.  Gupta     . 

579 

Sp.     (i^i)   B  a  1  a  c  handra 

„      „     A.    C.    Partha- 

Krishna  .          .   167 

sartliy  Naidu  . 

579 

„     „       B  hagatram 

,,       ,,      Senatlii  Raja . 

579 

Sawhuy  .          .    167 

,,       ,,      K.    Venkata 

„     „       M.  M.  Hose     .  167 

Reddi       . 

579 

„    (12)  Golabchandra 

117 

Military       expenditure. 

Bez  Barna       .  237 

protest    against     in- 

„    „      P.  C.  Nandi     .  287 

crease     14,    9',^,    117, 

11    Medical  Service  :   Civil 

136,    199,    366,    389, 

medical  subordinates 

411,    435,     4.57,    487, 

201,     225,245,267,287,348 

508, 

524 

12    Medical  Service  :   Mili- 

M. (23)  V.  V.  Jogiah  . 

480 

tary  Branch  to  be  one 

„      (7)  Pringle      Ken- 

for Indian  and  Euro- 

nedy 

125 

pean     troops        225, 

„      (1)  P.         Rangiah 

245,  265,  289,  348,  370 

Naidu 

12 

INDEX    TO    RESOLUTIONS 


637 


M.  (18,  19,    20)   N.    M. 
Samartli     360, 

384,  405 
„    (10)  C.  S  a  11  kara 

Nair  .  .  195 
„      (8,   11)  D.   E.   Wa- 

cha  152,  214 

„  (21)  H.  A.  Wadia  .  424 
„    (25)  SirW  Wedder- 

burn         .  .   524 

Sc.  (20)  G.  P.  Abhyan- 

kai"  .  405 

„  (11)  K.  N.  Bhadurji  225 
„    (19)  Y.  K  r  i  s  h  n  a- 

s  w  a  m  y  Iyer  384 
„     (8)    Madan  Mohan 

Malaviya  .   152 

Sc.  (7)  Mudholkar  .  521 
„  (11)  S.  K.  Nair  .  225 
„     (23)  Rambhuj  Dntt 

Choudhuri  .  480 
„  (21)  V.  Ryru  Kurup  425 
,,  .,,  Sheik  Hussain  425 
„     (18)  G.      Srinivasa 

Rao  .         .  360 

„  (1,   10,)  D.  E.  Wacha 

12,  195 
Spp.    (18)  Baikunthanath 

Sen.  .   360 

,,    (19)    Charuchandra 

Ghose  .  .  384 
,,       ,,      Krishna 

Baldeo  Varma  425 
„  (21)  G.  A.  Natesan  384 
„    (19)   N.    K.     Rania- 

swanij-  Iyer    .  425 
Sp.    (7)  Ali     Mahomed 

Bhimji     .  .   129 

,,        ,,     Madan  Mohan 

Malaviya  .   127 

„     Mudholkar      .    126 
„     D.  E.  Wacha  .   127 
118  Military      Expenditure 
outside  the    Frontier 

223,  263,  286 
M.   (13)  1).  E.  Wacha  .  256 


M. 

(14)  G.  Subramania 

Iyer 

276 

,, 

(11)  H.  A.  Wadia  . 

216 

Sc. 

„     D.  G.  Padhye. 
(14)  Charuchander 

217 

Ghose 

276 

,, 

(13)  G.  Subramania 

Iyer 

256 

Sp 

p.  (11)  W.  A.  Cham- 

bers 

217 

119  Mil 

itary   Service:  High- 

er  ranks  for   Indians 

£ 

2,    72,  92,   117,   138, 

1 

58,     323,    367,   487, 

505,   548,  567, 

585 

M. 

(26)  P.    C.     B  a  n  - 

uerji 

541 

,, 

(18)  N.  C.  Kelkar  . 

364 

,, 

(8)  G.S.  Khaparde 

151 

,, 

(16)   Man  Singh 

314 

,, 

(3)  Norendranath 

Sen 

47 

,, 

(23)  Rambhuj  Dutt 

Choudhuri 

481 

)> 

(24)  Senath  Raja    . 

500 

,, 

(28;  Syed   Muham- 

mad Bahadur. 

561 

i            Sc. 

(18)  Joseph  Benja- 

min 

364 

t             I) 

(23)  G  o  V  i  ndashai 

Sharma  . 

481 

,, 

(24)  G  u  r  u  m  u  k  h 

Singh      . 

5C0 

j> 

(23)  N  a  r  a  y  a  n  a 

Menon     . 

481 

(?)  S  a  1  i  g  r  a  m 

! 

Singh 

47 

'                 ,, 

(26)  G.  Sarma 

541 

Spp. 

(16)  Abdul  Rahim  . 
,,       R.  P.  Karandi- 

315 

kar  . 

315 

„ 

„      Krishna  Baldeo 

Varma     . 

315 

>) 

,,     Rajeudra  Singh  315 

Sp. 

„     G  u  r  u  c  h  a  - 

ran  Singh 

315 

638 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


PAGE 


120  Military   subordination 


to  civ 

il  control  . 

435    1 

121    Militia 

orcranisation 

137,  158,  177,  202, 

227 

122  Miuto-M 

orley  Reforms. 

485 

M.  (23) 

S  u  )•  e  n  d  r  a- 

natli  Bannerji. 

476 

Sc.    „ 

Madan   Mohan 

Malaviya 

477 

Spp.    „ 

Dr.  Clerk 
Dr.      Gopinath 

477 

Misra 

477 

') 

L.  A.  Govinda- 

raghava  Iyer  . 

477 

)> 

Hariki  shan 

Lai 

477 

„     1. 

R.  A.  Hume 

477 

'' 

M.  A.  .Tinnah    . 

477 

Modholkar 

477 

,',    (23) 

J.  B.  Petit     . 

477 

123  National  Control    525, 

546 

124 

B  d  u  c  a  t  i  0  ii 

461,525 

546 

M.  (22) 

H  i  r  c  n  d  r  a  - 

nath    Datta     . 

453 

Sc.    „ 

M.    P.    Venka- 

tappiah  . 

454 

Spp.    „ 

Y.  G.  Bijapur- 

kar 

454 

'J     ,, 

Ismail     Hasan 

Sheraji    . 

454 

S.  K.  Nair 

454 

M.  K.  Patel     . 

454 

!,'  '» 

J.  N.  Roy 

454 

>i 

C.   V.   Vaidya  . 

454 

125   Native 

Chiefs — no  de- 

position  without  trial 

244,  265 

,289 

M.  (12) 

S.   P.    Sinha     . 

241 

Sc.    „ 

W.  S.  Caine     . 

241 

126  N  o  m  i 

nation       to 

Legislative       Council 

without    consultation 

226 

308 

(a)  Election     for    C.  F. 

249 

127  North- Western      Fron- 

tier Provinces    .         ,  508 
M.  (24)  P  u  r  u  s  h  o  t- 

tam  Lai  .         .  .501 
Sc.    ,,      Sundar     Singh 

Bhatia     .         .  501 

128  Official    Secrets 

Bill     ....  389 
M.  (19)   Bishan     Nara- 

van  Dhar         .  383 
Sc.    „      Murlidhar        .  384 
Spp.    „      G.     S  r  i  n  i  - 

vasa  Rao  .  384 

(Jmnibus — vide    Confir- 
niation 

129  Outrages       .         .         .  485 
Pan.jab     High     Court, 

viie  High   Court 
M.   (23)  K.    Krishna- 

samy  Rao        .  477 

130  Panjab — a     Regulation 

Province    .  .    327,  438 

M.  (26)   Bishan     Nara- 

van  Dhar  .  541 

„    (16)  Har  Bhaga- 

van  Das .  .318 

„     (24)  Sundar    Singh  497 
„     (25)  Tcj       Bahadur 

Sapru       .  .   535 

Sc.   (24)   D  h  a  r  m  d  a  s 

Suri  .  .   497 

,,    (25)  Parameshwara 

Lai  .  .  .   535 

„    (16)  T  a  r  k  a  n  a  t  h 

Mitra       .  .318 

Spp.  Ananda  Charlu  535 

,,  A.    Choudhuri  535 

„  Math    Bandhu 

Guha       .         .  535 

131  Panjab  Regulations 
the     Council's 


Panjab 

under 

Act    . 
M.   (24)  Sundej 


503 


Singh 
Bhatia     . 
1)  h  a  1'  m  das 
Suri 


49 


4<)7 


INDEX    TO    RESOLUTIONS 


639 


73 
69 

69 


423 


423 


132  Parliamentary        Com- 

mittee— request     for 

one    to    enquire  into 

suggestions    of      the 

Congress    . 

M,      (4)  W.  C.  Bonnerji 

Sc.       ,,      B  i  s  h  ambar- 

nath 

133  Parliamentary    enquir- 

ies— periodical,  to  be 
revived       .  .  .  433 

M.    (21)  AmbalalDesai  423 
Sc.     ,,      Tarapada  Ban- 
nerji 
Spp.     ,,      V.       Krishna- 
swam  i  Iyer 

134  Parliamentary        repre- 

sentation   by 

1  Dadabhai         Xaoroji 

249,  269,290,  310,  439 

2  W.  C.    Bannerji,    Sir 

3  Henry     Cotton     and 

4  Sir  John  Jardine  391,412 
M.   (13)  P.  A  n  a  n  d  a  - 

Charlu  .  .  263 
„  (12)  W.  C.  Bonnerji  242 
„  (15)  R.  C.  Dutt  .  3C3 
Sc.  (13)  Motilal   Ghose  263 

135  Partition       of     Bengal 

390,    412,    436,    460, 

486,  .504,  523 

M.    (20,  2.5)  Ambika- 
charan  Mazum- 
dar  .    405,  516 

„     (24)  Bhupendranath 

Basu        .         .   497 

„      (19)  A.    Chondhuri   385 

„      (22)  Khoja  A  1 1  i  - 

kulla        .         .  451 

„      (23)   Krishna    Nair  479 

,,      (21)  Surendranath 

Bannerji  .  426 

Sc.  (23)  Anibikacharan 

Mazunidar       .  479 

„    (20,  21)    A.    Chond- 
huri 425,  427 


Sc. 

(23) 

D  h  a  r  m  d  a  s 

Sui'i 

480 

,, 

(24) 

K.     Ekambara 

Iyer 

498 

,, 

(23) 

Harischandra 

Vishindas 

480 

,, 

(25) 

C.  Karunakara 

Meiion     . 

516 

,, 

(22) 

R.  N.  Mudhol- 

kar . 

4.51 

., 

(19) 

G.    Rag  h  a  V  a 

Rao 

385 

,, 

(22) 

S  urendranath 

Bannerji. 

451 

Spp 

(20) 

Baikunthanath 

Sen 

405 

^^ 

,, 

Binnai  Kumar 

Rai 

405 

(25) 

Nibaran  Chan 

drada.s  Gupta. 

516 

„ 

(24) 

P;iranieswara- 

lal   . 

498 

Sp.(21) 

Abdul  Kasini   . 

427 

,, 

,, 

Baikuntha 

nath  Son 

427 

,, 

,, 

Hadayat     Bik- 

shu 

427 

,, 

R  N.  Mudhol- 

kar.          .    406,427 

)) 

,, 

Nussurudin 

427 

,, 

S.  Sinha. 

427 

C.  V.  Vaidva  . 

427 

136  Pei'manent    Settlement 

1 

Stan 

ding    C  o  ni  - 

mittee  to  report  on 

73 

2 

Sought  93,  118,   1.59, 

178 

198,  224,  249, 

267 

285,  328,  ^87, 

4C2 

489,  508,  524, 

545,  566, 

589 

M. 

(13) 

Adam,  .John     . 

257 

" 

(5,f: 

,  l(i)  Baikunta- 
nath  Sen 

85,  1.53 

185 

,, 

(29) 

B  h  u  p  e  n  d  ra- 

nath  Basu 

583 

640 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREP^DOM 


M. 


M. 


(26)  Das,  M.  S. 

538 

Spp.(ll)  Bhagirath 

(19)  L.  A.  Govinda- 

Prasad    . 

220 

raghava     Iyer 

382 

,j 

(10)  Kalj-ana    Sun- 

(9)  D.  A.  Khare    . 

172 

dram  Iver 

185 

(28)  A.    S.    Krishna 

jj 

(28)  M  a  t  h  r  a  d  0  s 

Eao 

561 

Ranichand 

561 

(16)  Madan    lilohan 

" 

(22)  Mehta     Baha- 

Mala^iya 

320 

durchaiid 

456 

(6)  R.    N   Mudhol- 

,, 

(9)  Mir  Nisar  Ali 

kar 

114 

Shokrat 

172 

(25)  P  c  t  e  r  P  a  u  1 

,, 

(26)  Pantulu,  Mr.   . 

538 

Pillai 

510 

(19)  Pete  r  Paul 

(23)  R-,sh  Behari 

Pillai       . 

382 

Ghose 

483 

J, 

„     P.       Srinivasa 

(11)   M.  N.  Samarth 

218 

Varadachari    . 

382 

(12)  G.      Subrama- 

,, 

„     S.    S  u  b  r  a  - 

mania   Iyer     . 

241 

maniam  . 

382 

(4)  K.  T.  Tclaiig  . 

70 

,, 

(5)  Snder-ud-d  i  n 

(13)  Yciikata    Rat- 

Ahmed    . 

86 

11  am 

258 

,, 

(19)  P.  R.  Sundara 

(22)  C        Vijayara- 

Iver 

382 

ghavacliari 

456 

,j 

(11)  B.  G.  Tilak      . 

218 

(25)  Sir  Wm.  Wed- 

Sp.  (22)  Deshinukh      . 

457 

derburn 

524 

,, 

(7)  K.    G.    Desh- 

(9)  Ba  i  k  u  n  t  h  a- 

pande 

128 

iiatli  Sen 

171 

,j 

(9)   Gurucharan 

(14)  M.  R.  Bodas    . 

276 

Singh       . 

171 

(22)  Gokiiran     Mis- 

,, 

„    K.  V.  Joshi     . 

171 

ra 

456 

„ 

(7)  Pringle     Ken- 

(12) A.  P.  Goodridge 

241 

nedy 

125 

(13)  D.  S.  Garvel    . 

257 

J, 

(10)   Manavikrama 

(2b)    H  i  r  a  n  a  ii  d 

Raja         . 

185 

Kliem  Singh   . 

561 

,j 

(11)  Pan  durang 

(9)  G.S.  Khaparde 

172 

Bapuji     . 

219 

(16)  V.  R.  Nanibiar 

321 

^^ 

(22)  Raoji    Govind  456 

(lO)  Hon.  Mr.  Natu 

185 

J, 

(9)  Sheik  Wahab- 

(8)  Peter      Paul 

ud-din     . 

171 

Pillai       . 

153 

137   Ph 

ysical  education   de- 

(6)  R.  Sabha])ati 

maiidod      .         .    179, 

407 

Pillai 

114 

138  Place  and  Date  of  meet- 

(5) S.  Subraiiiania 

ing  of  the 

Iyer 

86 

2nd  Congress 

14 

(11)  G.     Venkata- 

3rd 

„ 

34 

ratnam    . 

218 

4th 

)» 

50 

(26)   B.     Venkates- 

5th 

5J 

74 

warln 

538 

6th 

95 

INDEX    TO    RESOLUTIONS 


641 


7th  Congress 

121 

M.  (25)  Sir   William 

8th 

149 

Wedderbiun    .  523 

9th 

161 

Sc.  (26)  Birendranath 

10th 

181 

Sasnial    .          .  540 

11th 

205 

„    (18)  Krishnama- 

12th 

228 

chari         .         .  362 

13th 

250 

„      (4)  R.  X.  Mudhol- 

14th 

269 

kar           .         .     66 

15th 

290 

„    (17)  V.  R.  Nambiar  341 

16th 

310 

„    (20)  Srischandra 

17th 

332 

Sarbadhikari  .  405 

18th 

351 

Spp.  (20)  S.  B.  Bhagavat  405 

19th 

373 

„    (26)  Bishnupada 

20th 

392 

Chatterji          .   541 

21st 

414 

„     „       V.  K.  Jogatdan  541 

22ncl 

440 

„    (20)  V.  G.   Joshi     .  405 

23rd 

462 

„    (18)  N.  M.  Maitra  .  362 

24th 

490 

„      „     M.  K.  Padhya     362 

25th 

508 

„    (26)  Sama    Samud- 

26th 

527 

ram  Pillai        .  541 

27th 

550 

Sp.  (21)  Isvvarasaran    .  426 

28lh 

610 

,,       „      Jogiah     .          .  426 

29th 

569 

„      „      Kali   Prasanna 

139  Plague  e  x 

pe 

n  d  i  t  u  r  e 

K  a  V  y  a  Vj  h  i  - 

290 

310 

sharad     .         .  426 

M. 

(14) 

V 

C 

Desika- 

„     (4)  Kennedy           .     66 

chariar    . 

283 

„    (21)  Narguntikar    .  426 

,, 

(15) 

E. 

C. 

Dutt 

303 

„       „     A.    C.    Partha- 

Sc. 

(14) 

G 

B. 

Phansal- 

sarthy   Naidu .  426 

ka 

r  . 

283 

141   Political    Meetings 

140  Po 

ice  ( 

1) 

Aciministra- 

and    Schoolmasters 

tion — 

Commission  of 

305,  567 

enquiry 

. 

72 

M.   (15)  Ka  1  i  c  h  a  r  a  n 

(2) 

Eeforin 

92,     117, 

Bannerji.          .  299 

138 

158, 

177,  202, 

Sc.    „     T.  M.  Nair       .  299 

347 

368, 

411,  436, 

142  Polytechnic      Institute 

523, 

548 

408,  438 

M. 

(26) 

R. 

P. 

Karandi- 

143  Poverty    of    India   134, 

kar  . 

540 

156,     178,     199,   247, 

>» 

(8) 

G 

g 

.      K  h  a- 

248,  345, 346,  365,  408,  438 

P- 

rde 

151 

M.   (10)  Jambulinga 

„ 

(4) 

Si 

jjid  Hussain 

65 

Mudaliyar       .   189 

,, 

(H, 

18, 

21)  S.  Sinha 

„      Theay,   Sey- 

341, 362, 

426 

mour       .         .  186 

,. 

(20) 

Vi 

Java  Kumar 

„       „      Madan    Mohan 

B 

Dse 

405 

Malaviva           .   169 

642 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Sc. 


Sp, 


(12,    17,   20)    R.  K. 

Mudholkar  239 

339, 

400 

(Is)  G.    Subraniania 

Iyer         . 

358 

(21)   B.  G.  Tilak      . 

430 

„      Gokarnath 

430 

(9)  Gopinath 

170 

(21)  L.  A.  Govinda- 

raghava  Iyer  . 

401 

(10)   H.    Morgan 

Brown     . 

189 

„      Nandi 

186 

(l8)  Perraju   . 

359 

.  (10)  B.  A.  Clioudh- 

uri  . 

1S7 

(21)  K.   N.  Desh- 

mukh 

430 

(17)  Guha       . 

340 

(20)  R.  V.  M  a  h  a- 

jani 

401 

(10)  R.  N.  Mudhol- 

kar 

187 

(20)  K.    Natarajan 

401 

(21)  G.    K.  Parekh 

431 

(18)  M.  M.  Patel    . 

359 

(21)  Runibhuj  Dutt 

430 

„     X.  K.     Raraa- 

swami  Iyer     . 

430 

„     Sanktau    Pra- 

sad     . 

430 

(9)  Ambikacharan 

Maitra    . 

170 

„     Mahomnd     AH 

Bhiniji    . 

170 

,,     Muhurrinu  Ali 

Chiste     . 

170 

(10)  P  ar  tha  s  ara- 

tliy  iSIaidn 

187 

(12)  N.  M.  Sanmrth 

239 

(10),  (12)  G.   Subra- 

mania      Iyer 

'190, 

339 

(10)  V  i  s  h  n  11  pada 

Chatterji 

189 

144  Press    (1)  Liberty  cur- 

tailed   203,   224,   247, 
266,  285,  309, 439,  566,  589 

(2)  Repeal  of  the  Act  .   524 

(3)  Secret  Press  Com- 
mittees .         .  285 

(4)  Summary  attach- 
ment of  n  e  w  s- 
papers  .  .  488 

M.  (28)  B  hupendra- 
n  a  t  h     B  a  s  n 

559,  593 
„  (14)  A.  M.  Bose  .  282 
„  „  \V.  A.  Cham- 
bers .  .  277 
,,  (25)  A.  Choudhuri.  517 
„    (11)   Keay,      Sey- 

mour       .  .   210 

„    (10,  15)    F.  Rama- 
chandra   Pillai 

195,  302 
,,    (13)  C.       Saukaran 

Xair        .         .  257 
„    (23)   P.    R.  Sundara 

Tver  .         .  482 

Sc.  (28)  Dalvi       .  .  560 

„     (25)  Dwarkanath    .  517 

„     (14)  N.   C.  KeJkar     277 

„     (25)  A.  S.    Krishna 

Rao  .         .517 

„     (11),  (23)Ramachan- 

dra  Pillai  216  ,  482 
„     (23)  S.  Sinha  .  483 

„     (10)  G.  Subramania 

Iver         .         .  196 
„     (29)  Yusuf  Hasan  .  517 
Spp.(28)  J.  Choudhuri.  560 
„        „      Krishna  das 

Jhanisai  .   5151 

Sp.     „     A.L.T.  Desai   .  216 

„     Y.  V.  Modak  .  216 

145  Primary      Education  — 

Free    407,    461,    488, 

507,  524,  546,  567 
Gokhale's  Bill  .         .  546 


INDEX    TO    RESOLUTIONS 


643 


PAGE 


M.    (26)  A.  L.  Govinda- 

raghava  Iyer  .  538 

„     (25)  V.  V.  J  o  g  iah 

Pantulu.  .   517 

„     (28)  Syed  Muham- 
mad        .         .  561 
Sc.  (25)  G  a  n  a  p  a  t  i 
Krishna 
Chitab     .  .   517 

„     (26)   R.  P.  Karandi- 

kar  .         .  539 

Spp.  „      Gour       .         .  539 

„    (25)   Hirdayau  a  t  h 

Kunzru  .  517 

„    (26)  Ji  te  ndralal 

Bannerji  .   539 

„       „     V.  V,  Pandya  .  539 

„       „     Satis  Chandra 

Bannerji  .  539 

Sp.      „     G.  K.  Gokliale  539 

146  Privilege  of  election  of 

members  and  of  ap- 
pointment of  n  o  n  - 
official  chairman  503. 

522,  545 

147  Prostitution  73, 160,  17S,  202 
M.      (4)  Captain  Banon     70 

„       (9)  D.  E.  Wacha  .   169 
Sc.     (4)  Captain  Hear- 
say .        .    70 
Spp.    „     Howard  ,     70 
„      ,,     M  u  h  a  m  m  a  d 

Hafiz        .  .     70 

Sp.     (9)  C.  C.  Maitra  .  169 

148  Provincial    Committees 

148,  462 

149  Provincial  Finance         .   244 

Provincial  grievances 
— vide  Behar  Legisla- 
tion   .... 
M.    (12)  B.  G.  Tilak     .   233 
Sc.      ,,     Yatindranatli 

Choudhuri       .  234 
Sp.      „     Madan  M.jhan 

Malavija  .  234 

48 


Sp.  (12)    G.     Parames- 

waram  Pillai  . 

234 

150  Public  Service  : 

(1)   Commission's  Re- 

port   and   Govern- 

ment Order   d  i  s - 

satififactorv         93. 

nV,    224,244,  265,' 

287,  348,  360 

,  386 

(2)   Suggestions    . 

565 

M.  (28)  Baikuntha- 

nath  Sen 

558 

,,      (8)  G.  K.  Gokhale 

146 

„    (18)  G.   K.  Setna    . 

363 

Sc.      ,,     Abdul  Kasim  . 

363 

,,      (8)  Madan    Mohan 

Malavij'a 

148 

,,    (28)  N  i  ]  r  a  t  a  n 

Sirkar     . 

559 

Spp  (S)  Janardan    Ra- 

ghunath   Nim- 

kar 

149 

„   (28)   V     V.    Jogiah 

Pantulu  . 

559 

„      (8)  Jotindranath 

Choudhuri 

149 

„   (28)  Mathradas 

Raraohand 

559 

,,      (8)   Unu'aoMirza 

Haii-at 

149 

Sp.      „     Hoshan  Lai     . 

149 

151  Qualifications      f  o  r 

Voting 

91 

M.     (5)  Eardley Norton 

90 

152  Quarantine  at  Bombay. 

438 

M    (21)  G.  K.  Parekh  . 

430 

Sc.    „      Ali  Muliuminad 

Bhimji     . 

430 

Spp.   „     Abdul   Kayara 

430 

,,      „     G.  S.  Khare     . 

430 

]  53  Railway    S  e  r  v  i  c  e — 

Higher  Ranks  for 

Indians                    370, 

386 

M.  (Is)  G.  A.  Patel      . 

363 

„    (19)  D.  E.  Wacha   . 

379 

Sc.  (18)  S.  M.  Patel      . 

363 

644 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Sc.  (19)  G.  Suhramania 

Iyer 

Spp.  (18)  M.  K.  Patel     . 

Sp.  (19)  Abdul  Kasim  . 

„       „     Pea  ry      L  a  1 

Ghose 
,,       ,,     S  u  I'endranath 
Bannerji  . 

154  Railway— Third      class 

passengers'        g  r  i  e- 
v^aiices 

155  Reciprocity  . 

M.   (29)  Mrs.    Annie 
Besant    . 

Sc.     „      P.   K  e  s  a  V  a 
Pillai 
Spp.    „       H  i  r  d  ayauath 
Kunzru   . 

156  Reduction  of  Cable 

rates  .  .    526, 

M.    (25)  Sir  Wni.  Wed- 

derburn  . 
„    (26)  Bi.xhan     Nara- 
yandliar  . 

157  Reduction  in  School  fees 

158  Release  of  political  pri- 

soners 
M.    (25)  Sir  Wm.  Wed- 

derburn  . 
„    (26)  Bishen     Nara- 
yandhfir  . 

159  Representative  Institu- 

tions 

160  Repressive       Measures 

and  Boycott       .    437, 
M.    (21)  Madan    Mohan 

Malaviya. 
Sc.      „     L  al  a     Lajpat 

Rai 

Sp.      ,,      A.  H.  Gaznavi 

„       „     G.  S.Khaparde 

„       „     D.  A.  Khare    . 

,,       ,,     V.        Kriahna- 

swamy  Iyer    . 

„       ,,     Panday     Ram 

Sai-an  Lai 


Sp.  (21)  H.  A.  Wadia  .  428 


381 

161    Re-uniting  of  Bengal   . 

543 

363 

M.    (26) 

S  u  rendranath 

382 

Bannerji 

532 

Sc.      „ 

R.N.  Mudhol- 

381 

kar . 

533 

Spp.   „ 

Ambikacharan 

381 

Mozumdar 
Muhammad 

533 

AH  Choudhuri 

534 

226 

Miirlidhar 

533 

586 

", 

C,    P.    Rama- 

swami  Iyer 

533 

580 

,, 

Rnmbhuj  Dutt 

Choudhuri 

534 

.581 

,, 

D.    E.     Wacha 

533 

162  Royal 

Commission    of 

.581 

Enquiry     into     the 
working  of  the  Indian 

549 

Administration 

13 

M.     (1) 

G.  Suhramania 

519 

Iver 

9 

Sc.      „ 

P.  M.  Mehta    , 

10 

542 

Spp.    „ 

Norendranath 

179 

Sen 

10 

16.)  Salt  Tax    74,  92,  118, 

544 

137,    1 

57,    177,     202, 

246,  265, 

369 

520 

M.  (15) 

C.    Y.    Chinta- 

mani 

302 

.541 

„    (11) 

G.  K.  Gokhale 

221 

„      (6) 

Kennedy, 

29 

Pringle  . 

113 

»    (12) 

R.  D.  Nagarkar 

23  () 

460 

Sc.  (18) 

A.  V.  Desai     . 

363 

„    (t2) 

M.    S.     Rama- 

427 

swamy    Gupta 

236 

»    (11) 

A.  D.  Upadhye 

221 

427 

„      (6) 

D.  E.  Wacha  . 

113 

428 

164  Sanitation — Plague  en- 

428 

quiry 

544 

428 

M.  (26) 

Sarat  K.   Mul - 

lick 

537 

428 

Sc.     „ 

J.  N.  Ghose     . 

537 

Sp.    „ 

Kaviraj   Jatin- 

428 

dranath  Sen    . 

537 

INDEX    TO    RESOLUTIONS 


645 


165  Secretar}'      of    State's 

Salaiy"        .         .    409,433 
M.   (20)  Sir      Balchan- 

dra  Krishna    .  402 
Sc.    ,,       G.      Srinivasa 

Rao  .         .  402 

Spj).  „       M.  K.  Padhye.  402 

166  Sedition  Laws  267,  524,  544 
M.  (26)  B  a  i  k  u  n  t  ha- 

nath  Sen  .  535 

„    (13)    W.  C.  Bonnerji 

260 
„  (25)  J.  Choudhiiri.  517 
Sc.  (26)  D.  A.  Khare  .  535 
„    (25)    A.   S.  Krishna 

Eao  .  5l7 

„    (13)    Mudholkar      .   261 
Spp.  (25)    Dwarkanath  .   517 
,,     (26)    G.      Srinivasa 

Rao.         .         .  536 
„    (25)    Yusuf  Khan   .    51 7 

166  («)    Selection  of  Presi- 

dent .  .         .  463 

M.  (22)     D.  A.  Khare  .  457 

167  Separate  Communal  re- 

presentation (elector- 
ates) .    525,  547,  589 
M.    (26)  Gnkarannath 

Misra      .  .   540 

„     (25)  M.  A.  Jinnah  .  518 
Sc.     „     Muzharal  Haq   518 
„    (26)  Naraj'an    Pra- 
sad .  .   540 
Spp.  (25)  S3'ed      Hasan 

Imam     .  .518 

168  Separation  of  Judicial 
and  Executive  Func- 
tions :  33,  54,  71,91, 
117,  137,  156,  177, 
200,  223,  243,  268, 
286,  303,  323,  316, 
368,  391,  412,  436, 
460,    487,   507,    521, 

547,  568,  588 


M.  (15)  Ambikacha- 
ran  M  o  z  u  m- 
dar.  .         .  293 

,,     (26)  Bishan    Nara- 

vandhar.  .   540 

„  (14)  A.  M.  Bose  .  278 
„  (13)  ,J,  Choudhnri  .  257 
„    (18)  Ambalal      Sa- 

kerlal  Desai  .  362 
„  (21)  R.  C.  Dutt  .  425 
„    (12)  J.  P.  G  o  o  d  - 

ridge  .  .  233 
„  (17)  Gour  .  .  340 
,,     (2(_i)   Harischandra 

Rai  Vishandas  4('5 
,,    (25)  Jogendranath 

Mukerji .  .  51-i 

„       (1<)  K  a  1  i  c  h  aran 

Bannerji  .    168 

„  (22)  Krishna  Xair.  460 
„    (11)  Mana     Mohan 

Ghose      .  .  215 

„    (24)  Madan  Moh  an 

Malaviva  .  501 

„       (8)  R.   X.  Mudhol- 

kar  .         .  149 

„     (16)  S.  Sinha  .  315 

,,     (2;i)  Sat  ischandra 

Bannerji  .  481 

,,       (3)  X.      Subrama- 

niam         .  .     47 

Sc.  (15)   Agashe    .  .  293 

„  (8,  18,  22)  Am- 
bika  c  h  a  r  a  n 
Mozumdar  15u, 

362,  460 
,,    (25)  Braj   Kishore 

Mahant  .  .  514 
„    (16)  ChaitBehari 

Lai.  .  .  315 
„  (28)  Ganguli,  K.  C.  555 
„  (12)  X.  X.  Ghose  .  233 
„    (2c.)  X.   K.     Rama- 

swamy  Iyer  .  4u5 
„    (23)  R.     Sadagopa- 

chari        .         .  481 


646 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOE    FREEDOM 


PAGE 


Sc.  (11,  13,    21)    0.    H. 

Setalwad    215, 

257,  426 

„    (173   G.     Srinivasa 

Eao 

340 

„      (9)  N.  Subba  Rao  . 

169 

Spp.(15)  Abdul  Rahim  . 

293 

,,    (17)  Ambikacharan 

Mozunidar 

340 

„    (23)   B  i  s  h  n  11  pada 

Chatterji 

481 

„    (16)  Bun  Ram  Lub- 

liaya 

315 

„    (18)  Cama,    Rustan 

K.  R.       . 

362 

.,    (16)  C.    Y.    Chinta- 

mani 

315 

„       „     A.  Choudhuri . 

315 

„      (8)  Deo  Rao  Vina- 

3'ak 

151 

„       „     Hun    Cliandra 

Eai 

150 

„    (16,  17,  18)   Kali 

Prasanna  Kav- 

yabi,sharad315, 

340 

362 

„    (20)  Kali  Prasauna 

Roy 

405 

„     (28)  Lalchand    Na- 

val rai 

555 

„      (8)   Murlidhar 

151 

„    (15)  Nasir-ud-din 

Ahmed    . 

293 

„      («)  K.  G.  Natu      . 

150 

„    (15)  A.    C.    Partha- 

sarthy  Naidu  . 

293 

„    (23)  G.  A."Patil       . 

481 

„    (25)  C.     P.    Rama- 

swamy  Iyer     . 

514 

,,    (21)  Satischaudra 

Bannerji . 

426 

,,    (15)  Sham  Narayan 

293 

„       „     S.  Sinha . 

293 

Sp.    (9)  Ambikacharan 

Mozumdar 

169 

583 


426 


Sp.  (29)  B  h  u  p  e  n  dra- 
Nath  Basu 
,,    (21)  Bishuupada 
Chatterji 

169  Silver     Duties— Aboli- 

tion 
M.     (5)  D.  E.  Wacha   . 

170  Simultaneous  Examina- 

tions and  the  raising 
of  the  age  of   Candi- 
dates        .         .         13 
1  Ex.- 93,     117,     137, 
199,  224,  244,  265, 
287,  309,  348,  391, 
461,  523, 
(2)  Thanks      to     the 
House  of  Commons 
for     their     S  y  m- 
pathetic  Vote 
M.  (14)  A.  M.  Bose      . 
„      (1)  D  a  d  a  b  h  a  i 

Naoroji    . 
„      (8)  G.  K.  Gokhale 
„    (26)  V.  V.  Jugiah    . 
,,    (11)  Kalicharan 

Bannerji 
„    (2b)  C.   1'.    Rama- 
swaiuy  Iyer    . 
,,      (5)  S.  Raiiiaswami 

Mudaliyar 
,,     (12)  G.   Subi'aniania 

Iyer 

„       (9)j  (10)  Surendra- 
nath    Bannerji 

167,190 
Sc.  (28)  K.  C.   Ganguli   555 
„      (5)  G.  K.   Gokhale 
„       (9)   Hatiiid       A  1  i 

Khan 
„  (26)  Kane 
„      (b)  Madai)    Mohan 

Malaviya 
„    (12)  D.  G.  Padhye  . 
„    (It)  Raja     Rampal 
Singh 


548 


180 

282 

11 
147 

541 

216 

555 

81 

234 


82 

167 
541 

148 
234 

190 


INDEX    TO    EESOLUTIONS 


647 


Sc.     fl)  D.  S.  White     .     11 
Spp.(28)  Abdul  Rahini .  555 
,,      (5)  Adam,  John     .     84 
,,        ,,     All     Mahomed 

Bhimji     .         .     84 
„    (28)  Lai     C  h  a  n  d 

Xavalrai  .         .  555 
(9)  C.      Venkata- 

rain  Naidu  .  16S 
Sp.  (10)  Abdul  Ri)hiin,  190 
;,  „  G.  K.  Gc.khale  190 
„  „  Ghulani  Ahm- 
ed Khan  .  191 
„  „  M.  V.  Joshi  .  190 
„      „      Keay,    S  e  y  - 

mour       .         .  191 
„      (9)  Murli      Rosen 

Lai  .         .   168 

„        „     Raja    Rampal 

Singh      .  .   168 

„    (10)  R.  Yenkata 

Subba  R  lo       .   190 
„    (25)  Sir  William 

Wedderl>urn    .  519 
S  o  u  t  h      Africa — vide 
Indians  in  Colonies 

171  Standing     Congress 

Committees    at    im- 
portant Centres         .     34 

(1)  Committee  for  1906  4^9 

(2)  Recommendations  .  462 

172  Standing    Counsel    for 

Madras,  Bombay  and 
Calcutta    .         .         .94 

173  Sub-Committee  on  am- 

endment of  Rules     .  526 
M.  (25)  Sir  Wm.  Wed- 

dei-burn  .         .519 

174  Subjects  Committee    .     462 
M.   (22)  D,  A.  Khare   .  457 

175  Surpluses — U  t  i  1  i  s  a  - 

tiou  .         .    409,434 

M.  (2(1)  G.  K.  Gokhale  403 
„    (21)  G.  Subramania 

Iyer         .         .  424 


Sc.  (20)  Ambalal       Sa- 

kerlalDesai     .  403 

„    (21)  R.   N.  Mudhol- 

kar  .  .  424 

Spj).  „     Mathurdas        .  424 

Sp.  (2o)  G.  Subramania 

Iyer         .         .  403 

176  Swadeshi  460,  486,  506, 

522,  545,  567,  589 
M.   (22)  A  n  a  n  d  a 

Charlu      .         .  454 
„    (25)  C.   Y.   Chinta- 

mnni  .     .  .  513 

„    (26)  M.  S.  Das         .  537 
,,     (23)  D  i  p  n  a  r  a  i  n 

Singh      .         .  480 
Sc.  (25)  J  i  t  e  n  d  r  a  1  al 

Bannerji  .   514 

„    (22)  Madan    Mohan 

Malaviya  .  454 

..    (26)  S.  K.  Nair        .  537 
„    (22)  K.  Perraju       .  480 
Spp.  „    G.  K.  Chittab.  480 
(25)  Dwarkanath   .  514 
(22)    Iswara  Saran.  480 
„      Y.  R.  Joshi     .  455 
Khoja     Maho- 
med Xoor        .  454 
„      Goolam       Ah- 
med Khan      .  454 
(25)   D.  Y.  Krishna 

Row  .         .  514 

,,      Lokamal  Chel- 

laram.      .         ,   514 
(22)  R.    Y.     Maha- 

jani  .         .  480 

(25)  Snchindra  Pra- 
sad Basu.  .  514 
(22)  P.  K.  Tilak      .  456 
Sp.     ,,     Lala  La  j  pat 

Rai  .         .         .  454 

177  Tata     Research    Insti- 

tute   .         .         .         .368 
M.  (18)  G.  Subramania 

Iyer         .  .  361 

Sc.      „     Krishna  Nair.  361 


648 


HOW    INDIA    WKOUGHT    FOK    FREEDOM 


Spp.(lS)  Madan  Mohan 
Malaviya. 
IT'S  Teaching     Universities 
248,  267,  289, 
179   Technical       Education 
53,  72,  92,  138,    179, 
227,    288,    309,    325, 
351,    -437,     461,    488, 
507,  524,  546, 
(a)   Commission  of  En- 
quiry 73,    92,    117, 
M.    (16)  N.G.  Chandra- 

varkar 
„       CO  Lala  La  j  pat 

Kai 
„      (24)  IVladan  Mohan 

Malaviya 
„     (14)  R.N.   Mudhol- 

kar 
,,     (28)  Syed  Muham- 
mad 
„       (4)  Tej   N  a  r  a  i  n 

Singh      . 
Sc.       ,,    A  n  a  n   d  a 

Charlu    . 
„     (14)   B  aikuntha- 
nath   Sen 
(S))  S.  K.   Xair      . 
T  e  m  23  e  r  a  n  c  e — vide 
Abkari 
]  80  Tlianks  and  expressions 
of  gratification  to  : — 


1 


Rev.  Mr.  Andrews 
for  help  in  S.  Afri- 
can troubles  . 
Mr.  Bradlaugh  119, 
B  r  it  i  s  h  Contribu- 
tion towards  Ex- 
penditure . 
British     Public    for 

Famine  relief 
W.  S.  Caine  and 
Mr.  Smith  for 
successful  debate 
in  tlie  House  of 
Commons 


6 

The    C  r  0  w  n    for 

361 

creating  the  Pro- 

vince of  Behar     . 

543 

567 

7 

The    Crown   for 
Royal  message  to 
the     Princes    and 

Peoples   of   India 

585 

8 

Dadabhai      Xaoroji 

567 

for    Services  ren- 

dered               140, 

160 

159 

9 

Delegates     for 
work  in  England 

318 

120, 

590 

10 

W.  Digby  for  work 

172 

in  England  . 

160 

11 

Electors  of  Central 

5C6 

Finsbury           160, 

180 

12 

Famine     Union     of 

282 

England                365, 

373 

13 

Gandhi    for    heroic 

561 

deeds    in    S.   Africa 

563, 

588 

69 

14 

Gokhale    for    S  e  r- 
vices  rendered  439, 

69 

462, 

588 

15 

Government      f  o  r 

282 

appointing     Ameer 

173 

All    to     the    Privy 

Council 

502 

16 

Goveniment       for 
apjiointing      S.      P. 
Sinha        as        Law 

member 

502 

17 

Government      for 

588 

C  o-o  p  e  r  a  t  i  V  e 

140 

Credit  Societies  Bill 

390 

18 

Government  for  cre- 
ating   Cadet    Corps 

325 

367, 

373 

19 

Government       for 

268 

creating  Province  of 

Behar       . 

543 

20  Government  for  des- 

patching      the 

Indian       Expedi- 

92 

tionary  Force 

585 

INDEX    TO    RESOLUTIONS 


649 


21  Governmeut  for 
Educational  C  i  r- 
cular  m  re  Univer- 
s  i  t  y  Commission 
Report  367, 373 

22  Government  for 
Famine  Policy         .   324 

23  Government  lor  ini- 
t  i  a  t  i  n  o-  Scientitic 
enquiry  into 
Cause    of   Plague       544 

24  Government  f  o  r 
grants  towards 
P  r  i  m  a  r  3'  E  d  u- 
cation       .         .         .  567 

25  Govern  ni  e  n  t  for 
raising      age     limit 

93, 117 

26  Governmeut  for  re- 
ducing Salt  Tax 
and  raising  asses- 
sable minimum  for 
Income-Tax     .         .   390 

27  Government  for  Re- 
uniting Bengal         .  543 

28  Lord  Hardinge  for 
bold  pronounce- 
ment of  the  policy 
of  G.  of  I.  in  re 
Inciians  in  S. 
Africa      .  .  .  563 

29  Lord  Hardinge  for 
successful  adminis- 
tration    .  .         .   589 

30  House  of  Commons 
for  vote  on  Simul- 
taneous Examina- 
tions        .  .  .180 

31  Indian  Troops  for 
lieroic  conduct         .  586 

32  D.  A.  Khare  for  Ser- 
vices as  General 
Secretary         .         .  569 

33  Lala  Lajput  Rai  for 
Services  in  Eng- 
land .         .         .439 


34  Maharaja  of  Dar- 
bhanga     .  .  .  160 

35  Lor  d  Northbrook 
for  pleading  reduc- 
tion of  Home 
charges    .  .  .180 

36  Mr.  Pollak  and  Mr. 
Khallarlack  for 
voluntary     sacrifice 

in  S.  Africa     .  .  588 

37  President  of  the 
Congress  263,     303, 

414,  431,  457 

38  Lord  Reav  of  Bom- 
bay ."'        .         .     95 

39  Reception  Commit- 
tee 263,  414,  490 

40  Secretarj^  of  State 
for  promise  to  re- 
duce Salt  Tax  .  227 

41  Secretary  of  State 
in  re  Local  Self- 
G  o  V  e  r  n  m  e  n  t 
Scheme    .  .  .  545 

(a)  Secretary  of  State 
in  re  Public  Ser- 
vice 

42  Secretary  of  State 
in  re  Medical 
Service.  523,  549 

43  Suppliers  of  quarters, 
etc.,  to  Delegates.       120 

44  Mr.  Tata  for  gift  for 
higher  scientific 
educational  re- 
searches .         .  309 

45  Volunteers       .  .  502 

46  D.  E.  Wacha  for 
Congress  Services    .  569 

47  Sir  William  Wed- 
d  e  r  b  u  r  n  for  per- 
sonal sacrifices      95,  527 

48  Wedderbum,  Dada- 
bhai  Xaoroji    and 

A.  0.  Hume     .         .  325 


650 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


49  Sir.  W.  VVedderburn 
a  n  d  the  British 
Committee  119, 

140,  160,  ISl,  205, 
227,  243,  269,  290, 
307,  373,  391,  413, 
439,  462,  502,  527, 
544,  569, 
M.  (6)  Ayodhyaiiath 
(2s)    B  a  i  k  untha- 

nath  Sen 

(14,  29)      Bhupen- 

dranath    Basu 

283, 

(26)  Bishan    Nara- 

yan  Dhar 

(14)  A.  M.  Bose      . 
(16)  N.G.  Chandra- 

varkar 

(19)  C.  Y.  Chinta- 
maui 

(22)  D  a  d  a  1j  h  a  i 
Naoroji   . 

(15)  R.  C    Dutt       . 
(9,  25)  G.     K.    Go- 

khale  175, 

(21)  D.  A.  Khare    . 

(22)  Lai  Mohan 
Ghose 

(21,  24)      M  a  d  a  n 

Mohan    Mala- 

viya  431, 

(24)  P.  M.  Mehta  . 

(13)  C.  Sank  a  ran 

Nair 
(14,  22)  G.     Subra- 
mania        Iyer 
283, 

(16,  25)  S  u  r  e  u- 
dranath  Ban- 
nerji  317, 

(28)  Syed  Muham- 
mad 

(20)  D.  E.  AVacha. 
M.     (5)  J.  N.  Yajnik    . 


So.  (22)  B  a  i  k  u  n  tha- 

nath  Sen          .  457 

„    (20)  D.  N    Bose      .  406 

„    (16)  Miss  Balg-arnie  315 

„       ,,      Gama,  Rustam  317 

„      (;»)  D.    B.  Chakra- 

deo           .          .   176 

590 

„    (29)  N.  Chitambara- 

115 

nath  Mudaliar  584 

„    (21)  Narayana  Rao  431 

561 

„    (28)  C.  S.  Ram  a- 

swamy  Iyer  .    562 

(21)  S  urendranath 

583 

Bannerji          .  432 

Spp.   (22)  Pt.Ramnath.  457 

543 

„     (5)  C.    Saukaran 

283 

Nair        .         .     89 

„       „     H.  A.  Wadia   .     90 

320 

Third     Class     Passen- 

gers—  vide     Railway 

385 

181   Tibetan  affairs  and  I'or- 

wax'd  jDolicy       .         .  410 

455 

M.    (20)  N.  A.  Wadia  .  404 

301 

So.      „      Mm-lidhar       .  405 

Sp.     „      N.  B.  Ranade.  405 

520 

182  Trial  by  Jury  33,  71,  92, 

431 

117,    137,     157,    200, 

223,    243,    265,    289, 

457 

308,371,391 

Trial   by  Jury  or  asses- 

sors— claim  for   trial 

501 
502 

by  Natives    308,  371,  391 

M.    (11)W.  C.  Bonnerji  215 

„       (8)  Guru  P  r  a  sad 

258 

Sen          .          .  151 

,,     (12)   Hemchandra 

Rai          .         .  236 

„     (10)  C.H.  Setalwadl93 

459 

Sc.     (8)  B  a  i  k  u  n  tha- 

uath  Sen          .   152 

„     (10)  K.  V.    Desh- 

519 

mukh      .          .   193 

„     (12)  R.  P.  Karandi- 

561 

kar          .         .  236 

4C6 

,,     (11)  Venkatasubba 

89 

Iyer         ,         .  215 

INDEX    TO    RESOLUTIONS 


651 


PAGE 


Spp.  (10)    Ambik  acha- 

ran  Moziimdar.  193 
„     (11)  Venkatarao 

Giitikar  .  .  215 

Sp.  (18)  Lakshminath 

Bezhararaa  .  352 
:,  (2)  Lala  Murlidhar  21 
„      (4)  X.  Subba  Rao  .  65 

183  Trustee   to   the  Pernaa- 

nent  Fund  .  .   161 

184  Union  for  Self-Govern- 

ment  of  the  Congress 
an,d    the    Muslim 
League      .         .         .  564 
M.    (28)  Bhupendra- 

nath  Basu        .   555 
Sc.     „      R.  N.  Mudhol- 

kar  .  .  556 

Spp.    „      C.    G  o  p  a  1  a 

Menon  .  .  556 
„  „  U.  A.  Khare  .  556 
„       „      Mathradas 

Ramchaud  .  556 
„  „  J.  B.  Petit  .  556 
„      „      D.  E.  Wacha  .  556 

185  University  Bill     .         .  387 
M.    (19)  Sm-endranath 

Bannerji  .  3b2 

Sc.     „      Ainbalal  Sekh- 

arlal  Desai  .  383 
Spp.  „  Choudhuri  .  383 
„      „     H  a  r  i  p  r  asad 

Chatterji  .  383 
„       „      Madan  Mohan 

Malaviya  .  383 
„      „      R.  X.  Mudhol- 

kar.  ,  .  383 

,,      ,,      G  Subramania 

Iyer         .         .  383 

186  University  Commission 

-Report       .  .  .  367 

M.  (18)  J.  Choudhuri  .  360 

Sp.    „     D.   G.  Padhye  361 

„     N.  B.  Ranade  .  361 

„       „      G.  M.  Tripathi  361 


187  Validity  of  Wakf-i-ala- 

aulad  .         .  .  460 

M.  (22)  Muhammad 

Yusuf     .  .  460 

Sc.     ,,      Baikuntha- 

nath  Sen         .   460 

Spp.  „      Abdul  Kasim  .  460 

„     „      A.  M.  Jinnah  .  460 

„     „      S.  B.  Patel      .  460 

188  Verdict.s    of     acquittal 

bj'  Jurj' — fi  n  a  1  i  t  y 
claimed    33,   71,    92, 

117, 137,  200,  223 
M.  (10)  Setalwad  .  193 
Sc .     „      K.  N.  D  e  s  h- 

mukh      .  .194 

Spp.  ,,      Ambikacharan 

Mozumdar       .  194 

189  Volunteering     34,     54 

7i',  92,  117,  137,  158, 
177,     202,    227,    246, 

371,  391,  .585 
M.  (8)  G.  S.  Khaparde  151 
„     (29)  R.  N.  Mudhol- 

kar  .         .  578 

,,       (2)  Raja    Rampal 

Singh     .  .     22 

Sc.  (2.j)  J.  Choudhuri  579 
Spp.     „     R.  V.  Gupta   .  579 
„        „     A.    C.  Partha- 

sarathy  Naidu  579 
„  „  Seuathi  Raja .  579 
„       „     K.  Ven  ka  ta 

Reddi      .         .  579 

190  AVatek  Cess  Regulation 

203   227 
M.  (10)  G.       Venkata- 

ratnain    .  .   196 

Sc.     „      V.      V.     Ava- 

dhani      .  .   196 

Spp.     „      S.    B.    Sanka- 

ran  .  .   196 

Welcome  to  the 
Crown — vide  Hom- 
age 


652 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOE    FREEDOM 


191  Welcome   to  Lord  Cur- 

zon     .         .  .  .   285 

M.  (14).Surendranath 

Bannerji  .   ^75 

Sc.      „     Syed   Muham- 
m  a  d      Baha- 
dur .  .  275 
Spp.      „     P.    A.  n  a  n  d  a 

Charlu    .  .275 

„       „     D.  S.  Garud      .  275 


192  Welcome    to  Their 

Majesties  the  King- 
Emperor  and  the 
Queen-Empress  on 
their  visit  to  India  .  543 

193  Welcome       to       Their 

Royal        Highnesses 
the    Prince    and    the 
Princess  of  Wales         432 
M.    (21)  G.  K.  Gokhale  422 


GENERAL    INDEX 


Acknowledgment  of  Tele- 
gram of  Thanks  f  i-  o  m 
the   Natu  Brothers  . 

Address  to  Mr.Charles  Brad- 
laugh  and  his  r  e  p  1  y 
thereto     .... 

Anti-Congress  Associations 

Assassination  of  Mr.McKin- 
ley  .... 

Burn  circular      . 

Chairman  of  the  Recej.tlon 
Committees  in  the  several 
Congresses  : 

2  Dr.  Rajendralal  Mitra 

3  Raja    Sir  T.  Madhava 
Rao    .    '     . 

4  Pt.  Avodhyanath 

5  P.  H.Mehta 

6  Mana   Mohan  Ghose  . 

7  C.  Narayanaswanii 
Naidu 

8  Pt.  Bishambarnath     . 

9  Sardar  Daval  Singh  . 

10  P.  Rangiah  Naidu       . 

11  V.  M.  Bhide 

12  Sir  Romesh   Chandi-a 
Mitra 

13  G.  S.  Khaparde  . 
14.  X.  SubbaRau  . 
1.5  Bansi  Lai  Singh 
16  Kali  Prasanna  Roy 

1?  Jagadindranath       Rai 
Bahadiu- 


302 


96 
56 

335 
531 


16 

37 

59 

76 

108 

122 
140 
162 
182 
206 

227 

252 
270 
292 
311 


PAGE 

18  Ambalal  S.  Desai  .  352 

19  Sved      M  u  h  a  m  m  a  d 
Sahab  Bahadur.  .  374 

20  Sir  P.  M.  Mehta  .  .  394 

21  Madholal      .  .  .416 

22  Rash  Behari  Ghose       .  442 

23  Tribhuvan  Das    Malvi.  466 
,,  K.  Krislmaswanii  Rao  473 

24  Harkishan  Lai     .  .491 

25  Pt.  Sundar  Lai     .  .  310 

26  Bhupendranath  Basu  .  528 

27  Mazarhal  Haque  .  ,  595 

28  Harchandrai     Vishin- 

das        ....  552 

29  SirS.  Subx-a mania  Iyer  371 
Characteristics  of     the    1st 

and  2nd  Congresses.         .     15 
Characteristics    of    the   3rd 
Congress  .         .         .35 

Cheers  to  Mr.  Gladstone  on 
his  82nd  Birthday    .         .    124 

CiroulRr  convening  a  meet- 
ing of  Representatives 
from  all  parts  of  India     .       3 

Congress — what  work  it 
has    done    and    what   not       7 

Continuous  Journey  Regula- 
tion of  Canada 


563 


Convention  Com  m  i  1 1  e  e 
Meeting  at  Allahabad      .  470 
334    I    Coronation  Darbar  at  Delhi  353 


654 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Curzon's  (Lord)  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  Congress 
Welcome  Telegram  .   280 

Death  of  Sir  V.  Bhashyam 
Iyengar    ....  474 

Death  of  Sir  Seshadri  .  335 

Degree  of  Compliance  witli 
the  Resolutions  on  : 

1  Abkari      and      Excise 
Administration  .  .     92 

2  Abolition  of  the  India 
Council        ...        1^' 

3  Annexation  of  Burma       9 

4  Arms  Act    .         .  .51 

5  Behar  (a  s  e  p  a  rate 
Province)  .  .  .  535 

6  Forest  Laws   153,  170,  195 

7  Legislative  Council  for 
the  Panjab  ,  .  .  262 

8  Military  Expenditure  .       9 

9  Partition  of  Bengal      .  532 

10  Protest  against  the 
Bengal  Government's 
order  prohibiting 
Government  Servants 
from  attending  the 
Congi'ess     .  .         .   115 

11  Reform  of  the  Legis- 
lative Council  9,  40,  43,  61 

12  Royal  Commission  to 
enquire  into  the  work- 
ing of  the  Indian 
Administration    .         .       9 

13  Salt-Tax      .         .  .384 

14  Separation  of  Execu- 
tive and  Judicial  Func- 
tions 149,  169 

15  Silver  duties,  abolition 

of         ....     87 

16  Simultaneous  Exami- 
nation and  raising  of 
the  age  limit        .         .       9 

Delegates  from  the  different 
Provinces  5,  16,  36,  58, 
76, 105,  122,  141, 162,  182, 
206,    229,    251,    270,  291, 


Delegates  from  the  different 
Provinces  {Continued) 
311,  333,    354,    374,   391, 
416,   441,    473,  491,  509, 

528,  552,  570 
ENTERTAINME^'T     given    to 
Congress      members      by 
Lord  Connemara,  Sir  Sa- 
valai  Ramaswami  Mudali- 
yar  and  Eardley  Norton  .     51 
Fathers  of  the  Congress     .       1 
First    Woman     who    spoke 
from    the    Congress  plat- 
form        .         .         .  .116 
Eraser's  (Sir  Andrew)  Com- 
mission (Police)        .         .  548 
Free    Press   granted  by  Sir 

Charles  Metcalfe       .  .     17 

Futile    Surat  Congress,  The  465 
Gift  of  Rs.  10,000  from  the 

Rajah  of  Ramnad  .  184 

Gift    of  a  Hall  for  the  Divi-  ■ 
sional     Congress     in    the 
Southern  Ma  ratha  country 
b  y      Mr.      Ramachandi-a 
Mahadev  Apte  .  .68 

Indian  Parliamentary  Com- 
mittee in  the  House  of 
Commons  .         .         .  164 

Industrial  Exhibition  in  con- 
nection with  the  Congress: 
1st  .         .         .         .  334 

2nd         .         .         .         .353 
3rd    opened     by    the 
Maharaja  of  Mysore  .  374 
Insult   to  Sir  '  P.  M.  Mehta 
and     Surendranath    Ban- 
ner ji  at  Surat    .         .         .  468 
Invitation      to  a     garden 
]5arty   from   the    Rajah  of 
Kollengode        .  .  .  480 

Invitations    to    the    several 
Congresses  made  by 
1  The     Allahabad  dele- 
gates    for      the      8th 
Congress     .  .         .  134 


GENERAL    INDEX 


655 


PAGE 


2  Lucknow  d  e  1  e  g  ates 

for  the  loth  Congress  2S3 

3  Mr.  M  u  r  1  i  d  liar  of 
Lahore  for  the  16th 
Congress     .         .         .  303 

4  Bhupendranath 
Basu  of  Calcutta  for 
the  17th  Congress        .  322 

5  P.  M.  Mehta  of  Rom- 
bay  for  the  18th 
Congress      .  .  .  343 

6  Yatindranath  Chou- 
dhuri  of  Calcutta  for 
the  22od  Congress       .  431 

7  Chitnavis   of  Nagpore 

for  the   23rd  Congress  458 

8  The  Lahore  Delegates 

for  the  24th  Congress  484 

9  Tej  Bahadur  S  a  p  r  u 
of  Allahabad  for  the 
25th  Congress     .  502 

10  Bhupendranath  Basu 
of  Calcutta  for  the 
26th  '  ongress  ...    530 

11  N.  S  u  b  b  a  Rao  of 
Madras  for  the  29th 
Congress     .         .         .  562 

12  Sir  Vitaldas  Daniodar 
Thackersey  of  Bombay 

for  the  30th  Congress  584 
Legislative    Councils: 

Reform     .  .  .  .163 

Local   official    obstacles    to 

Congress .  .  .  .55 

Message  from    Keir  Hardie 

read  ....  475 

Message    of    aii'ection   from 

the    President,    Sir    Wm. 

Wedderburn    to     Messrs. 

A.  O.  Hume  and  G.  O.  M.  519 
Money   collected  for  South 

Africa  .  .  .  499,  519 
Motives    for     convening    a 

National  Assembly  .  .        1 

Murder  of  Mr.  Jackson         .  494 

Dr.  Lalkaha         ,  494 


Murder  Sir  Wni.  Curzon- 
Wylie        ....  494 

Notice  calling  a  National 
Convention       .  .  .  468 

Objects  of  the  Congress     .       7 

Peesentation  of  an  address 
to  Mr.  Bradlaiigh  and  his 
reply         ...        96,  97 

Presentation  of  Rs.  4,000  and 
a  silvci'  salver  to  Sir 
Henry  Cotton  by  Mr.  I.S. 
Desai',  Ed  of  the  Ouzerati  -394 

Presentation     of     a     gold 
watch  and  chain  to  Romesh 
Chander  Mitra  .  .  243 

Presentation  of  a  book  and 
a  silver  sah'er  to  Sir  Wm. 
Wedderbui-n 

Presentation  of  a  s  i  1  v  e  r 
casket  and  money  to 
Mr.  Yule  .... 

Presidents  of  the  Congress  : 

1  W.  C.  Bonnerji   . 

2  Dadabhai  Naoroji 

3  Budruddin  Tyabji 

4  Mr.  Yule     . 

5  Sir   William    Wedder- 
burn   .... 

6  Sir   Pherozesh  ah 
Mehta 

7  P.  Ananda  Charlu 

8  W.  C.  Bonnerji 

9  Dadabhai  Naoroji 

10  Alfred  Webb       '. 

11  Surendranath  Bannerji  207 

12  Muhammad  Ralii  m- 
Lullah  Savani       .  .  231 

13  C.  Sankai-an  Nair        .   252 

14  Ananda  Mohan  Bose   .  271 

15  Romesh  Chandra  Dutt  292 

16  N.  G.  Chandavarkar    .  312 

17  D.  E.    Wacha       .  ,  335 

18  Surendranath 
Bannerji      .  .         .  353 

19  Lai  Mohan  Ghose       .  375 

20  Sir  Henry  Cotton         .  394 


78 


60 

6 
16 
37 

59 

77 

108 
123 
142 
163 
183 


656 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


PAGK 


21  a.  K.  Gokhale     .         .416 

22  Diidfibhai  Xaoroji         .  44.3 

23  Rash  Behari  Ghose     .  467 

24  M  a  d  a  n       M  o  h  a  n 
Malaviya     .  .  .  492 

25  Rir  William  Wed  der- 
burii    ....   510 

26  Bishan  Narayan  Dhar.  529 

27  R.  N.  Mudholkar  .   551 

28  Nawab  Syed  Muham- 
mad Bahadur      .        ..  553 

29  B  h  u  p  e  n  d  r  a  n  a  t  h 
Basu.  .         .         .572 

Presideutial  Election  p  r  o- 
posed  in  the  several  Con- 
gresses by  : 

1  A.  O.Hurae         .         .       6 

2  Jaikishan  Mukerji       .     16 

3  W.  (J.  Bonnerji    '  .     37 

4  Pherozeshah  Mehta     .     59 
o  W.  C.  Bonnerji  .  .     77 

6  Sir   Romesh    Chandra 
Mitra  .         .         .   108 

7  Pandit  Ayodhyanath.    123 

8  P.  Ananda  Charlu      .  142 

9  „  .   163 

10  Sir  Savalai  Rauiaswa- 

my  Mudaliar        .  .   183    j 

11  P  Ananda   Charlu       .  2u7 

12  Pt.  Bishambarnath      .  231    ! 

13  Surendranath  Bannerji  2,32    ,' 

14  P.  Ananda  Charlu       .  271    j 

15  Pt.  Bishambarnath      .   1^92    [ 

16  Surendranath  Bannerji  312    j 

17  W.  C.    Bonnerji  .  .  335 

18  P.  M.  Mehta        .         .  353 
ly  ^  „  .  .  375 

20  Surendranath  Bannerji  3y4 

21  Pt.  Bhishambarnath  .  416    i 

22  Peary  Mohan  Mukerji  443 

23  Ambalal  S.  Desai  .  467 

24  Surendranath  Bannerji  4;)2 

25  „  ,511 

26  „  529 

27  „  596 

28  R.  N.  Mudholkar         .   553    I 


29  Surendranath  Bannerji  572 
Presidential     Election 
seconded    in    the    several 
Congresses  by  : 
1  S  i  r    S.     Subramania 

I.yei-    ....       6 
3  Sir      S.     Subramania 

Iyer    .         .         .         .37 
*i  Sardar  Dayal   Singli   .     59 

5  Pt.  Ayodhyanath  .     77 

6  Nawab         Shamshoo- 
dowla  .  .  ,   108 

7  Pherozeshah    Mehta      123 

8  D.  E.  Wacha       .         .  142 

9  Muhurram   AH  Chiste  163 

10  Raja  Rampal  Singh    .   183 

11  K.  N.  Bahadurji  .  207 

12  P.  Ananda  Charlu        .  231 

13  M.  V.   ,Joshi         ,  252 

14  R.  X.    Mudholkar         .  271 

15  Bagar  Ali  Khan  .  292 

16  Lala  Hans  Raj     .         .312 

17  P.  Ananda  Charlu         .  335 

18  S.  Nair         .         .         .  ;:i53 

19  Eardley  Norton    .         .  375 

20  C.  Sankaran  Nair         .  394 

21  Romesh  Chandra  Dutt  416 

22  Nawab  Syed    Muham- 
niad     .... 

23  Surendranath     B  a  n  • 


nerji     .  .  .  , 

24  G.  K.  Parekh 

25  D.  E.  Wacha 

26  R.  N.  Mudholkar 

27  G.  K.  Gokhale     . 

28  Baikunthanath  Sen 

29  Nawab   Syed    Muham- 
mad     .  .         .  . 

Presidential    Election     sup- 
ported    in      the      several 
Congresses  by  : 
1   K.  T.  Telang        . 

4  Sheikh   Raza   Hussein 
Khan  .         .  .  . 

5  Raja  T.  Rama  Rao 


443 

467 
492 
511 
529 
596 
553 

572 


59 

77 


GENERAL    INDEX 


657 


6  Ananda  Charlu    and 

1 

Nawab    Glmlam   Rnlj- 

bani      .... 

108 

11  R  N,  Mudholkar 

207 

13  Madan  Mohan  Malavi- 

ya  and    C.    H.    Setal- 

wad      .          .         .         . 

252 

14  John  Adam  and   Jaishi 

Ram     .          .          .         . 

271 

lo  D.  E.  Waeha 

292 

16  Miilmrram  AH   Chisti, 

C.    Vi  j  i  ar  a  gha  va- 

chai-iar  and  Bansi  Lai  . 

312 

17  R.  N.  Mudholkar 

335 

18   S.  X.  Pandit 

353 

19  MadanMohanJVlalaviya 

375 

20  Madan    Mohan    Mala- 

viya     .          .          .         . 

394 

21  R.N.  Mudholkar,  Guru- 

charan    Sinfjh    and   G. 

Subramania  Iyer 

416 

22  C.  Sankaran  Nair 

443 

23  Motilal  Nehru      . 

467 

24  L.  A.  Govindaraghava 

Iyer  and  Raizada  Bha- 

gat  Ram 

492 

25  R.  N.  Mudholkar 

51] 

26  G.   K.    GoUhale,  Syed 

Muhammad  and  Ram- 

bhuj   Dutt    . 

529 

27    Pt.      Madan     Mohan 

Malaviya 

596 

28   Gopaldas     Jhamatmal 

and  Rainbhuj  Dutt 

553 

29  R.    N.   Mudholkar  and 

N.  M.  Samarth     . 

572 

Release    of   the    Natu 

Brothers  .          .          .          . 

294 

Resignation    of  Mr.  Phero- 

zeshah  Mehta  . 

492 

Romer     Commission    (Mili- 

tary)         .... 

480 

Rules  framed  at  Allahabad 

470 

Singing     of     Sarola     Devi 

Ghosal's            Song 

"  Hindustan  "  . 

333 

Stages,  The  several 
through  which  the  con- 
stitution rules  passed 

Statements  of  Royal  person- 
ages, Elminent  Statesmen 
and  important  officials  in 
respect  of  Indian  aspi- 
ration : 

Edward  VII  .         . 

Queen  Victoria  68, 

(a)  Friendly  : 

1  Anstev,  Chisholm 

2  Beadon,   Sir  Cecil 

3  Bentinck,  Lord     .  275, 

415, 

4  Bright,  John  .     65, 

5  Bradlaugh,  Charles 

6  Burke,  Edmund  . 

7  Canning,  Lord 


Lord 


188, 

275, 

Ran- 


164, 


8  Churchill 
dolph   . 

9  Cre\i'e,  Lord 

10  Cromer,  Lord 

11  Digbv,  Mr.  .         '. 

12  Dilke,  Sir  Charles 

13  Duke    of    ArgvU,     64, 

175, 

14  Duke  of  Devonshire     . 

15  Elliot,  Charles     . 

16  Elphinstone,      Mount- 
stuart  .... 

17  Fawcett,  Henry  . 

18  Fitzpatrick,  Sir  Dennis 

19  Gladstone,  Mr.  42,  61, 

444, 

20  Goodridge,  J    P. 

21  Grant,  Charles     . 

22  Halifax,  Lord       . 

23  Hardinge,  Lord  . 

24  Hobhouse,   Lord     261, 

25  Hunter,    Sir    William 

125,  109, 

26  Irwin,  H.  C. 

27  James,  Mr. 


471 


445 
445 

108 
236 

534 

534 

46 

534 

534 

67 
529 
396 
354 
530 

336 
164 
125 

395 

534 
162 

534 
241 
64 
415 
529 
303 

302 
186 
215 


658 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


PAGE 


28  Jenkins,  Sir  L.     . 

29  Lawrence,    Sir   Henry 

30  Lawrence,  Sir  John 

31  Lawrence,  Lord  . 

32  Macaulay     .         .      35, 

33  Macdonald,  Ramsay    . 

34  Minto,  Lord 

35  Moore,  CoL 

36  Morley,  Lord       .   337, 

37  Munro,  Sir  Thomas     . 

38  Xortlibrook,  Lord 

39  Palmerston,  Lord 

40  Peel,  Sir  Robert. 

41  Reay,  Lord  .      89, 

42  Ripon,  Lord       57,  275, 

43  Rntlierford,  Dr.  . 

44  Stead,  W.  T. 

45  Stephens,     Sir    James 
Fitzjames    . 

(6)  Unfriendly: 

1  Brackcnbury,   jMr. 
Henry 

2  Chamberlain,  Joseph  . 

3  Colvin,  Sir  Auckland  . 

4  Cross,  Lord 

5  Curzon,  Lord  216,  415, 

6  JDaly,  Sir  Hufih    . 

7  Diilferin,  Lord 

8  El,<i:in,  Lord  .  261, 

9  Escombe,  HaiTV  . 

10  Fuller,  Sir  Banifylde   . 

11  Hamilton,  Lord  Geortre 

260, 

12  Lytton,  Lord  398,  415, 

13  M  a  c  d  o  n  n  <■  1  1,    Si  r 
Antony  .  .291, 

14  Risley,  Mr.  Herbert     . 

15  Roberts,  Lord 

16  Salisbury,  Lord  . 

17  Syed  Ahmed   Mr. 

18  Temple,  Sir  Richard   . 

44, 

19  Wcstland,    Sir    James 

189, 

20  Younfi-liusliand    . 
Subjects  Committee 


560 
2i)9 
42 
276 
415 
529 
417 
1S3 
400 
215 
175 
59 
64 
172 
276 
447 
447 

261 


214 

280 
86 
123 
515 
196 
54 
280 
279 
428 

280 
420 

515 
559 
216 
401 
62 

189 

214 

216 

38 


Subramania  Iyer,  Sir  S., 
appointed  to  the  llif^h 
Court,  Madras  ,  .  .   123 

Tata's  gift  of  Rs.  25,000  in 
aid  of  the  Indians  in 
South  Africa     .         .  .  504 

Telegram  of  thanks  and  good 
wishes  to  Mr.  John 
Bright       .  .  .  .65 

Telegram  of  thanks  and 
good  wishes  to  Dadabhai 
Naroji,  congiatulating 
him  on  his  election  to  the 
House  of  Commons  .         .   144 

Telegram  of  thanks  and 
good  wishes  to  Gladstone 
on    his    birthday  69,   144, 

167,217,262 

Telegram  of  thanks  and 
good  wishes  to  His 
Majesty   King    George  V  532 

Telegrams  from  Messrs. 
Dadabhai  Xaoroji  and  Dr. 
Rash  Heliari  (Jhose  read 
at  the  25th  Congress  at 
Allahabad  .         .         .512 

Tlianks  to  the  Chair 
offered  at  the  several 
Congresses  by : 

1  Mrs.  Kadumbiiii  Gan- 
guli  at  the  6th  Con- 
gress   .         .         .         .116 

2  G.  Subramania    Iyer 

at  the  14th  Congre'ss  .  283 

3  Bishan    Nai'ayan  Dhar 

at  the  15th  Congress   .  3o3 

4  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya 

at  the  21st  Co7igress    .  431 

5  Lai  Mohan  Ghose  at 
the  22nd  Congress       .   457 

6  V.Krishnaswamy  Aiyar 

at  the  23rd  Congress  .  484 

7  G.  K.  Gokhale  at  the 
25th  Congress  (Pandit 
Motilal  seconding)       .  520 


GENERAL    INDEX 


659 


8  Ghulam  Ali  G.  Charla 
at  the  28th  Congress 
(Bhupendranath  Basn. 
secondiug  and  Laka- 
mal  Chellai-am  and 
Mir  Arab  Khan  sup- 
porting 


)62 


9  S.  Srinivasa     Iyengar 

at  the  29th  Cong-ress    .  5S4 


Tilak's  action  on  the  Snrat 
platform  .... 

Time  and  place  when  and 
where  the  idea  of  a  Con- 
gress was  first    conceived 

YlCEKEGAL  Garden  party 

Visit  of  His  Excellency  the 
Governor  of  Madras,  Lord 
Pentland.  to  the  Congress 
Camp  .  .         .  . 


468 


1 
29 


577 


49 


INDEX   OF   NAMES 


Abdul  Kasim 

Pr.  R  9 

85 

Sc.  in  R  61  . 

342, 363 

„  44         . 

262 

Spp. „   „  187 

.  460 

„  136      . 

257 

Sp.    ,.    ,,61,135    . 

381, 

Sc.  „  37        . 

283 

399,427 

„  104      . 

282 

ScA    R  106 . 

.  455 

Adamsou,  Sir  Harvey  . 

555 

Member  C.  C. 

.  413 

Adinarayana  lyah,  M. 

S.C.C  .     . 

439,  440 

Spp.  R  42  ■     . 

518 

Abdul  Kayum 

Advani,  A.  M. 

Spp.  R  152    . 

.  430 

Sc.  R.23        . 

'362 

Abdul  Qudir 

Aga  Khan,  H.  H.  The  . 

531 

Sp.  R  37        . 

.  151 

Agarkar,  G.  G. 

Abdul  Rahim 

Pr.    at  1st  Congresp 

6 

Member  R.  C. 

.  152 

Agashe 

C.  0.  C. 

.  135 

Sc.  R  164 

295 

I.  C.  C.    . 

.  306 

Akbar         110,  127,  238, 

316 

556 

.Spp.  R  88     . 

.  146 

Akhov  Kumar  Maitra,  Mem- 

„ 116    . 

.  315 

ber,  I.  C.  C.      . 

330 

I     »  118    . 

.  555 

Akhov    Kumar  Majumdar 

„     „  168    . 

.  295 

Member  I.  C.  C. 

. 

330 

Spp.A.R106 

.  455 

Ali  Muhammad  Bhimji 

Sp.  R  170      . 

.  190 

Spp.  R  103    . 

422 

Abhyaukar     G.    R. 

„       „   152    . 

430 

Sc.  R  117      . 

.  405 

„      „  170    . 

84 

Achyuta   Menon,   K.  P 

Sc.      „  65      . 

241 

Member  I.  C.  C.   . 

.  331 

Sp.     „  9        . 

67 

Adam,  John 

„       „  37      . 

221 

237 

Delegate     to     the 

3rd 

„       „  94      , 

217 

Congress 

.     36 

„       „  117    . 

129 

Spp.  Presidential  Elec- 

„ 143    . 

170 

tion    . 

.  271 

Ambalal       Sakarlal     D 

esai 

Member    C.  R   E. 

95,  120 

welcomes  delegates  . 

352 

C.  A.  B. 

.     90 

Pr.    R  55      . 

453 

INDEX    OF    NAMES 


661 


Pr.     R  138 

.  423 

Ananta  Bandhuguha 

,.      „  168    .         .         .  362 

Sp.  R  43        . 

535 

Sc.     „  175    .         .         .  403 

Anstey,  Chishohu 

108 

Rp.     „  185    .         .         .  .383 

Apte  —  Ra  m  a  c  h  an  d  a  r 

Ambikacharan  Maitra 

B  a  1  d  e  o    vide 

Spp. R  143    .         .         .170 

under  R. 

Ambikacharan  Mozumdar 

Apte,  Y.  N. 

Member,  D.  H.      .          .521 

Sc.  R  94.       . 

237 

I.   C.    C.   306. 

Apte  W.  S. 

330,  413 
Pr.    R   13      .         .         .  457 

Pr.  at  1st  Congress 
Aswini  Kumar  Dutt 

6 

„      „  63       .         .         .   220 

Member  I.  C.  C.      289 

,  306 

„       ,.   135     .          .  405,   521 

B.  0.       . 

331 

Sc.     „   135     .          .         .  479 

Sp.  R  39       . 

282 

„      „  168    150,169.295,460 

Spp.  „  161     .         .         .  533 

„     „  168     .         .  340,  362 

„     „  182     .         .         .   193 

Ameer  Ali    .         .         .         .  502 

Ananda  Charhi 

Y.  G 1 

Ashoka 

AtuI   Chandar  Rai 

Sc.  R  64        . 
Avadhani,  V.  Y. 

Sc.  R  190      . 
Ayub  Khan 

555 
542 
196 

,Pr.  at  the  1st  Conj^ress       6 

Spp.  R  94      . 

558 

Sp.  Presidential   E  1  e  c- 

Ayodhvanath 

tion           .          .          .108 

Pr.  R  180       . 

115 

Pr.  Presidential  E  1  e  c- 

Sc.  R  103       . 

79 

tiou       142,  163,  207,  271 

„    R  27 

132 

Presidential  address      .  123 

Welcomes  delegates 

59 

Member,  C.  C.  C.   .          .   135 

Pr.  Presidential      Elec- 

C. P.  P.     .         .   155 

tion 

123 

D.  V.  .     204,  326 

Sc.  Presidential      Elec- 

Made Joint  Gen.  Sec.     .   161 

tion 

77 

Sc.  Presidential     Elec- 

,,   Address     to     Brad- 

tion                  .    231,  335 

laugh 

78 

Member  I.  C.   C.  .          .  306 

Member,  C.  C.  C.  . 

135 

E.  C.       .         .   332 

.Joint-General  Secretary 

Pr.  R  34       .          .          .  263 

94,  121, 

140 

„      „  64 

.  173 

Death    .          .          .         . 

142 

»      „  8H 

.  144 

Bagar  Ali  Khan 

„     „  176 

.  454 

Sc.  Presidential      Elec- 

Sc.  „  41 

.  221 

tion 

292 

„     »  58 

.  238 

Bahadurji 

„    „  71 

.  238 

Sc.  Presidential  E  1  e  c- 

„     „  86 

.     10 

tion          .         .         , 

207 

»     „'  110 

.  193 

Pr.   R  110      .         .    192, 

218 

Spp.  „  15 

.  838    t 

„  118      . 

219 

„     „  191     . 

.  275 

Death 

275 

662 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Baiianath*Lala 

Member  D.  V. 

204, 

326 

Present  at  the  1st  Con- 

I. C.  C.  . 

306, 

329 

gress 

. 

. 

5 

C.  A.  B.  . 

90 

Baikunthanath  Son 

Appointed  C.  R.  E 
Stand 

95, 

120 

Pr.  R  17 

256 

296 

iug 

„    „  68 

212 

Comisel 

94 

„    >,  136 

35, 

153 

185 

Death    . 

447 

Sc.  „  136       . 

. 

171 

M.  R  15 

338 

„    „  179       . 

282 

„    „  79 

88 

„    „  l-«2       • 

152 

„    „  132 

69 

Sp.  „  102       , 

166 

„    „  166        . 

261 

Member   D.  C. 

204 

„    „  182       . 

215 

I.  C.  C 

306, 

330 

Banon,  Captain 

A.I. 

34.5 

372 

M.  R  147 

70 

Baker,  Sir  Edward 

494 

Sp.  „  45 
Bansilal  Singh 

151 

Balachandra  Krishna 

Pr.    R  1 

423 

Welcomes  delegates 

292 

n       „    110       . 

517 

Member  I.  C.  C.    . 

301 

„     „  165     .. 

402 

Spp.  Presidential  Elec- 

Sc.    „  46       . 

456 

tion 

312 

Spp.  Presidential  Election  474 

Bapu  Rao  Dada 

Balak  Ram 

Member  I.  C.  C. 

289, 

.307 

Member  I.  C.C. 

331 

Bapnji,    Pandnrang    vide    P 

E.  C.   . 

331 

Barnard,  Sir  Henry 

315 

Balgamie,  Miss 

Baroacha 

Sc.  R  163       . 

385 

Sp.  R  89 

401 

Bannerji,   Kalicharan 

vide 

Basak,  K.  P. 

Kali 

Member  I.  C.  C.    . 

331 

„          Satischand 

fa 

■tde 

E.  C. 

331 

Satis 

Basu,  B  h  u  p  e  n  d  r  a  u  a  t  h 

„          Surendraiiath 

ride 

vide  Bhu 

Su 

,,       Nalinaksha  vide  Nali 

„         Tarapada  c 

'de 

T. 

„       Sadindra  Prasad 

„          Jitetidralal 

vide  J. 

vide  Sadi 

M.  N. 

Beaconsfield,  Lord 

10,59 

Pr.  R.   Uo    . 

343 

Beadon,  Sir  Cecil 

. 

236 

Bannerji,  P.  C. 

Beni  Prasad 

Pr.  R.   119     . 

, 

541 

Sc.  R  105        . 

319 

Bonnerji,  W.  C. 

Benjamin,  Joseph 

Presidential  add 

■ess     7 

142 

Sc.     R   no   . 

363 

M.    Presidential 

El 

e  c- 

„       „    116    . 

, 

364 

tion 

37 

,  77, 

335 

Spp.  „    71      . 

341 

Member    S.  C. 

37 

„      „    83     . 

401 

R.  C. 

52 

Bentinck,     Lord       275 

415, 

534 

C.  C.  C. 

135 

Bepin  Behari  Bose 

C.  P.  P. 

155 

Member  1.  C.  C.    . 

. 

331 

INDEX    OP    NAMES 


663 


Member  E.  C. 

. 

331 

Delegate  to  England     . 

584 

Bepin  Chandra  Pal 

M.  R  46 

577 

Sc.  K  10     . 

343 

„    „  92 

321 

„  13     . 

452 

,,    ..   144 

559 

„  115 

240 

„    „    184 

556 

Besant,  Mrs. 

Sc.  „   104       . 

482 

M.    E    155    . 

580    , 

Welcomes  delegates 

528 

Spp.  „    106 

582 

Presents    Report 

on 

Bhagavan  Das,  Malik 

Rules 

537 

Sp.  R  103       . 

19 

Bijapurkar,  V.  G. 

Bhap:avat,  D.  V. 

Spp.  R  124     . 

454 

Member    I.  C.  C. 

331 

Binai  Kumar  Rai 

E.  C.      . 

331 

Spp.  R  135     . 

405 

Bhagavat,  S.  B. 

Bipin  Krishna  Bose 

Spp.  R  140     . 

362 

Member,  C.  C.  C.  . 

135 

Bhagir;itha  Prasad 

Birendranath  Sasmal 

M.     R  ] 26     . 

220 

Sc.      R  140    . 

540 

Spp.,,  ]36     . 

220 

Bishambarnath 

Sp.    „  45       . 

151 

Welcomes  delegates 

141 

Bhai  Shankar  ^anabhai 

Trustee   of  the  Perma- 

Spp. R  52       . 

360 

nent  Fund     . 

161 

Bhana  Ram 

Member  I.  C.  C. 

306 

340 

Sc.  R  3  . 

500 

M    Pi-esidential   e  1 

ec- 

Bhandarkav,  R  G. 

tion                231, 

292 

416 

Pr.  at  1st  Congress 

5 

Sc.      R  132    . 

69 

Bhashyam   Iyengar,    Sii 

V. 

474 

Bislian  Narayan  Dhar 

Bhate,  S.  B. 

Member  R.  C. 

52 

Member,  D.  V. 

204 

I.  C.  C. 

306 

330 

M.     R73       . 

297 

E.  C.       . 

331 

Spp.,,   1 

423 

D.  V.      . 

.521 

Sp.    „  74       - 

133 

Delivers       Presidential 

Bhatia,    Sundar    Singh 

vide 

Address 

529 

Simdar 

M.      R       8     . 

543 

Bhide,  Gopal  Rao  vide  G 

opa 

,,    37    . 

195 

„       Vishnu      Moresliwar 

,,    55     . 

541 

vide  Vish 

„    66     . 

541 

Bhugatram  Sawhuy 

„    82     .         . 

532 

Sp.  R.  110    . 

167 

„    99    . 

542 

Bhupendranath  Basu 

„  110    . 

542 

M.  Thanks     to     Recep- 

„ 128    . 

383 

tion  Committee 

283 

„  158    . 

541 

Member  I.  C.  C.    . 

330 

„  168     . 

540 

C.  I. 

330 

Sc.      „    61    . 

424 

A.  I. 

345 

372 

Bishnupada  Chatterji 

„        S.  C. 

391 

i            Spp.  R  168    . 

426 

,481 

U.  H. 

521 

„  140    . 

541 

664 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Bodas,  M.  K. 

Sc.     R  136    . 
Bomanji  Patel  vide  P 
Booth,  General     .  .   131, 

Bose,  J.  C 

Bose,  A.  M. 

Delivei-s      Presidential 

Address 

Member 


276 

138 
239 


271 

I.  C,  C.      306,  329 

E.  C.        .         .331 

M.      R  11      .  .  2b3 

„  46      .         .         .  274 

„  55      .         .         .  234 

„    144  .         .  .   282 

„   170  .         .         .  282 

„   180   .         .         .  283 

Death    ....  447 

Bose,  D.  N. 

Sc.    R  180    .         .         .406 
Bose,  M.  M. 

Sp.  R  110    .         .         .  167 
Bose,  R.  C. 

Sc.    R  103     .         .         .  125 
Bose,     Bepin     Behari     I'ide 

Bepin 
Bose,  .Jogindranath  vide  Jog 
,,      Suvesh    Chandra  vide 
Suvesh 
Bose,  Vijayakuniar  vide  Vija 
Bradlaiigh,    Charles   46,  69, 
75,  78,  96, 
Present  at  the  Congress 
Received    address    and 
replied  .  .  ,      96, 

Death    .... 
R  180    . 
Brajendranath  Seal 

M.  R  55 
Brackenbury,  Sir  Henry  214, 


Bright,  John 
Brij  Kishore  Mahant 
Sc.     R  98      . 
„       „  168     . 
Bruce   . 
Budruddin    Tyabji 


123 
75 

97 
123 

140 

152 
449 
534 

514 
514 
253 


Delivers       Presidential 
Address  .  .  .37 

Sp.  R  61        .  .  399 

Death  .  .  .  447 

Buparoodwada 

Member,  I.  C.  C.   .  .   330 

Burke,  Edmimd        424,  534,  575 
Caine,  W.  S.         .         .         . 

Attends  Congress  108,  233 
Member,  B.  C.  .  .  94 
Sc.  R  on  Native  Chiefs.  241 
Sp.  „  on  E  X  p  e  nditure 

Commission       .  .   242 

Death  .         .         .         .386 
Cama,     R.  K.  R 

Sc.  R  104      .         .         .260 
,,  on  A  g  r  icultural 
Improvements     .  343 
Canning,  Lord  188,  275,  534 

Chaik,  Behari  Lai 

Sc.  Separation  of  Judi- 
cial and   Executive. 
Functions      .         .  ,315 

Chakradev,  D.  B. 

Sc.     Thanks    to     Lord 

Northbrook  .   176 

Chakravarti  J.  C. 

Spp.  R  on  Industries  .  582 
Chematmal     Gopaldas   vide 

Gopal 
Chambers,  W.  A. 

Member     I.   C.  C.    307,  330 
M.   Press  Gagging         .  277 
Sc.   Exchange    compen- 
sation allowance    .   175 
Sp.   Military        Expen- 
diture      outside 
Frontier  .         .217 

(y'liamberlain,    Joseph     280, 

357,  377,  378 
Chaiidavarkar,  N.  D. 

Sc.     Simultaneous    Ex- 
aminations   .  .     65 
Chandravarkar,  N.  G. 

Attended    the   1st  Con- 
gress    ....       6 


INDEX    OP    NAMES 


665 


PAGE 


Member,  S.  C.       .         .     37 
R.  C.        .         .     51 
I.  C.  C.    .         .  307 
Delivers       Presidential 
Address         .         .         .312 
M.      Technical    Educa- 
tion      .  .  .318 
Berar   Legislation  318 
Omnibus        .  .  318 
Britisn    Contribu- 
tion      .         .  .318 
Congratulations  to 
Caine    .          .         .  319 
Funds   for  British 
Committee    .  .319 
Thanks  to  British 
Committee    .  .  320 
South    African 
question         .  .  320 
Death     of     Jaishi 
Ram      .          .  .  320 
General    Secre- 
tary's   appoint- 
ment    .         .         .  322 
Sc.     R  on    Local  Self- 

Governnient  .     27 

Omnibus    Resolu- 
tion      .  .     81 
Charuchandra  Ghose 

Sc.     Military    Frontier 

Policy   .  .  .276 

Spp.  Military   Expendi- 
ture     ' .  .  .  384 
Charuchandra  Mitra 

One    of    the    Fathers  of 
the  Congress  .         .       2 

Member,  D.  V.       .  .  204 

Chatterji,  Hari    Prasad  vide 

Hari 
Chatterji      Mohini      Mohan 

ride  Mohini 
ChatterjiRamananda  vide  Ra 
Chatterji     Vishnupada    vide 

Vis 
Chief    Commissioner  of  As- 
sam .....  240 


Chief  Commissioner  of  C.  P.  238 
Chief  Justice  of  Columbia  .  557 
Chintamani,  C    Y. 

M.      Salt-Tax         .   362,  385 
„       Berar     and     C.  P. 

Legislation     .  .  497 

,,       Swadehi  .  .  513 

Sc.  Military  Expendi- 
ture, British  con- 
tribution .  .  342 
,,  Indians  in  Colo- 
nies .  .  479,  542 
Spp.  Separation  of  Jiidi- 
cial  and  Executive 
Functions      .  .  315 

„       Indians     in    Colo- 
nies      .  .  .  448 
Sp.    Famine           .         .  302 
„      Education      .         .  399 
Chiplonkar 

M,     Abolition   of  India 

Council  .         .      10. 

Chisti,    Muhurrum  Ali    vide 

Muh 
Chidambara  Rao,  T.     .         .22 
Chidambaranath  Mudlr.,  K. 
Sc.     Deputation  to 

England         .  .   584 

Chitnavis     vide    Gangadhar 
Invites      Congress       to 
Nagpur.         .         .         .  458 
Chitale,  G.  K. 

Spp.  Swadeshi        .  .  480 

Choudhuri,  Mr. 

Spp.  University  Bill       .  383 
Choudhuri,  A 

Member,  S.  C.  C,   .         .400 
M.      Thanks   to    Presi- 
dent     .         .         .  543 
Sc.     Partition   of   Ben- 
gal ..  .  405 
Spp.  Separation  of 
Executive  and 
.Judicial  Functions  315 
,,      Education     G  o  m- 

niission  .  .  342 


666 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Spp 

Surat  C.  C.    . 

470 

Council  Reform     . 

496 

,, 

Behar      Province 

Creation 

535 

Sp. 

Boycott    Move- 

ment    . 

452 

Choudhuri,  B.  Pal 

Spp.  Poverty 

340 

Choudhuri,  Jitendranath 

Member,  D.  V 

204 

I.  C.  C.    . 

330 

J 

C.  I. 

350 

M. 

Separation   of 
Judicial  and  Execu 

tive  Functions. 

257 

,, 

Cooper's    Hill 

College. 

319 

„ 

University      Cora- 

mission    r  e  c  o  m  - 

mendations  . 

60 

„ 

Partition    of 

Bengnl  . 

385 

^, 

Leg-islfitive    Coun- 

cil Reform 

422 

,, 

Sedition  and  Pi-ess 

Acts 

517 

Indians       in 

Colonies 

542 

Sc. 

Executive      and 

Bench   . 

173 

,, 

Legal  Practitioner.' 

218 

^, 

Local  Self-Govern- 

ment 

278 

,, 

Military    Colleges 

and  Volunteering. 

579 

Spp 

Public    S  e  r  V  i  c  e 
Commission       Re- 

port 

149 

Sp. 

Repeal     of     Press 

Act 

560 

Choudhuri,       Kumar     Mau- 

mathuath 

Member,  I.  CO.. 

330 

M. 

Liquor  Legislation 

318 

Sc. 

India   Council  Re- 

form 

583 

Choudhuri,     Mahomed      Ali 

vide  Ma 
Choudhuri,  Parvati  Shankar 

vide  P 
Choudhuri,  Pramad  Govinda, 

vide  Go 
Choudhuri,  Rambhuj    Datta 

^■ide  Bambhuj 
Choudhuri,      Ramkali     vide 

Ram 
Choudhuri,       Yatindranath 

vide  Y 
Churchill,  Lord  Randolph    .     67 
Churamani 

Sp.     Famine  Enquirv  .  314 
Clark  Dr.       .  .  .     '     .  475 

Cobban,  Rev.  G.  M. 

Sp.     Abkari      Adminis- 
tration .  .     81 
Colvin,  Sir  Auckland  54,  59, 

61,69,  86,   1.53 
Connemara,  Lord  .  .  •  51 

Confucius      ....  580 
Cotton,  Sir  Henry 

Delivers       Presidential 
Addi-ess  .  .  .  395 

M.      Deaths     of    J.    N. 
Tata    and  W.  Dig- 
by  ...  401 
„       Appointments      of 

General   Seci-etary  406 
,,       Congress  Commit- 
tee        ..  .   406 
Couch,  Sir  Richard       .  .  303 
Crewe,  Lord           ,          .          .  529 
Cromer,  Lord        .           .   164,  396 
Cross,  Lord            .          .    108,  123 
Curzon,  Lord    43,   217,    271, 
280,  293,  297, 375, 376, 383 
384, 393, 397,  399, 400, 415, 

417,  418,  427,  4.57,  458 
Cm-zon-Wylie,  Sir  William  494 
Dadabhai  Naoro.ii 

One    of    the   Fathers  of 
the  Congress  .  .       2 


INDEX    OF    NAMES 


667 


Serves   on    the    Public 
Service  Commission      .     32 
Election  to  Parliament  143 
Member,  I.  C.  C.  .329 

B.  C.      .         .     94 

C.  R.  E.  .   120 
Expresses  grief  at    the 
deaths     of  VV.  C.  Bon- 
nerji,  8aniuel  Smith  447,456 
Sends    telegram  to    the 
25th  Congress       .  .511 
M.      Simultaneous  Exa- 
minations      .  .     11 

,,       Appointment      of 

Gen.  Secretary  .       455 
„       Thanks  to  the'B.C.   4.55 
Spp.  Legislative    Coun- 
cil Reform     .  .11 
Delivers        Presidential 
Address         .          17,163,444 
Df\ji  Abaji  Khare 

Member,  S.  C.  .  .  37 
R.  C.  .  .52 
C.  C.  C.  .  135 

I.  C.  C.      307,  330 
C.  R.  E.  .   120 

sec.  .  439 

M.  Thanks  to  Gok- 
hale  and  Lajpat 
Rai         .  .   '      .    431 

,,      Formation   of  Pro- 
vincial     Commit- 
tees      .  .  .  457 
,,       Glutton      Excise 

duties    .  .   53S 

„      Permanent  Settle- 
ment    .  .  .172 
Sc.     Repeal  of  Repres- 
sion Acts       .  .  535 
Spp.  Union  of  Congress 
and     M  u  s  1  i  m 
League                     .    556 
Sp.     Repressive    meas- 
ures      .          .          .  428 
Dalvi,  D.  G. 


Sc.     Appointment       of 

Gen.  Secretary 
Sp.     Repeal  of  the 
Press  Act 
Daly,  Sir  Hugh    . 
Das,  M.  S. 

Permanent    S  e  t- 
tlement 
Swadeshi 
Das,  S.  R. 

Sc.      Representation  in 
Councils 
Das,  Nibaran    Chandra   ride 

Nibaran 
Das,  Raghunath  vide  Raghu 
Datta,    Hirendranath     vide 

Hirendra 
Dayal,  Prabhu  ride  Prabhu 
Dayal,     Raghabar      ride 

Raghabar 
Dayal  Singh 

One  of  the   Fathers  of 
the  Congress 
Sc.     Election  of  Presi- 
dent 
Welcomes  delegates 
Member,  D.  Y.      . 
Death    .... 
Dayal,  Snkla  vide  Sukla 
Dej',  Rattan 

Spp.  Soutli      African 
Affairs 
Dayaram  Jethmal 
Debi  Prasad 

Spp.  Indians    in     Colo- 
nies 
Deo  Rao  Yinayak 

Spp.  Separation    of 
Judicial    and  Exe- 
cutive Functions     . 
Member,  C.  C.  C. 
D.  Y 

I.  C.  C.    .  307, 
Derby,  Lord  125, 

Desai,  A.  L. 

Sp.     Press  Coercion 


62 

560 
196 


538 
537 


423 


59 
162 
204 
271 


499 

89 


513 


151 
135 

204 
331 

444 

216 


668 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Desai,  I.  S 395 

„      J.  V. 
Sc.     Salt-Tax         .         -  363 
Desai,      Ambalal      Sakerlal 

vide  Ambalal 
Desai,  Khiindu  Bai 

Sc.     Employment      o  f 

Indians  .  .  500 

Desai,  U.  L. 

M.      Indians  in  Colonies  382 
Spp.  „  .  479 

Deshpande,  K.  G. 

Sjj.     Permanent  Settle- 
ment    .  .  .128 
Desikacbari,  V.  C. 

M.      Plague       expendi- 
ture       .  .  .283 
Sc.     Indebtedness       of 

Peasantry      .  .  401 

Member,  E,  C.        .  .  332 

Desmukh 

Sp.     Permanent  Settle- 
ment    .  .  .  457 
Desmukh,  K.  N. 

Sc.     Trial  by  Jury         .  194 
Spp.  Poverty  .  .  430 

Deshmukh,  M.  G. 

Spp.  Civil  Medical  Ser- 
vice      .         .         .193 
Dev,  S.  S. 

Spp.     Famine        .  .  302 

Devdhar,  G.  K. 

M.      C  o  n  c  i 1 i  a  t  i  o  n 

Boards .  .  519 

Spp.  Industries     .         .  582 
Devadoss,  M.  D. 

Spp.  Loyalty  to  Throne   578 
Devi  Prasad  Sukla 

Spp.  Higher   Education  519 
Dhar,  Bishan    Narayan  vide 

Bishan 
Dharmdas  Suri 

M.   Forced    labour    and 

supply   .  .         .175 

Spp.  Partition  of  Bengal  480 


Sc.     Panjab  R  e  g u  1  a- 


tions 

497 

Member,  I.  C.  C.  .  330, 

413 

Dhrnva,  H.  H. 

Member,  S.  C. 

37 

R.  G.       . 

52 

Digby,  W.    Secretary,  B.  C. 

'   95,77, 

354 

Dilke,  Sir  Charles 

530 

Dipnarain  Sinha 

Member,  I.  C.  C.  . 

306 

M.       Swadeshi 

480 

Sc.     South     African 

Affairs  . 

499 

Disraeli          .          .         .         . 

59 

Dixit,  H.  S. 

M        Military    Expendi- 

ture 

342 

„       Indebtedness      o  f 

Peasantry 

401 

Sc.      I.ettres    de  Cachet  . 

500 

Dixit,  V.  R. 

• 

Spp.  Higher  Education. 

519 

Dravid,  N.  A. 

Sc.     Berar    and     C.    P. 

Legislation    . 

497 

„       Finance  Enquiry  . 

518 

„       Local  Self-Govern- 

ment     . 

537 

Spp.  Loyalty  to  Throne 

578 

Dufferin,    Lord    29,  50,    54, 

.=,0,  61, 

354 

Duke  of  Argyll      .     64,  175, 

336 

,,         Connaught 

578 

„        Devonshire 

164 

Dunichand 

Sc.     Education       a  n  d 

Industry 

318 

Member,  [.  C.  C.   . 

331 

Dutt,  R.  C 

273 

Dutt,    Aswinikumar     ride 

Aswini 

Dutt,  Kumar  vide  Kumar 

Dwarka  Das 

M.      Election  of  Univer 

. 

sity  Fellows , 

317 

INDEX    OF    NAMES 


669 


Member,  1.  C.  C.   . 

Dwarkanath 

Spp.  Swadeshi       .    514, 
„     Permanent  Settle- 
ment 
Spp    Press  and  Sedition 
Acts 

Editor  of  The  Crescent  pre- 
sent at  the  1st  Congress  . 

Editor,  The  Dnyan  Prnliagh 
present  at  the  1st  Con- 
gress .... 

Editor,  The  Hindu  present 
at  the  1st  Congress  . 

Editor,  The  Hinduatani  pre- 
sent at  the  1st  Congress     . 

Editor,  The  Indian  Mirror 
present  at  the  1st  Con- 
gress .         .  .         . 

Editor,  The  Indian  Spectator 
present  at  the  1st  Congress 

Editor,  The  Indian  Union 
present  at  the  1st  Congress 

Editor,  The  Indii  Prakash 
present  at  the  1  stCongress 

Editor,  The  Kesari  present 
at  the  1st  Congi-es    . 

Editor,  The  Maratha  present 
at  the  Jst  Congress  . 

Editor,  The  Nabahibhakar 
present  at  the  1st  Con- 
gress        .... 

Editor,  The  Nassin  present 
at  the  1st  Congress  . 

Editor,  The  Quarterly  Jour- 
nal of  the  Poona  Sarva- 
janik  Sabha  present  at 
the  1st  Congress 

Editor,  The  Tribune  present 
at  the  Congress 

Edward  VII 

Ekambara  Iyer,  K. 

Sc.     Partition  of 
Bengal 

Elgin,  Lord       197,  238,  261, 

Elliott,  Sir  Charles       . 


331 

Ellis,  J.  E. 

Member,  B.  C. 

95 

537 

Elphinstone,       Monntstuart 

1                                                 395, 

575 

517 

j     Escombe,  Harry 
Evans,  Rev.  Mr. 

279 

517 

Spp.  Abkari      adminis- 

i                       tration  . 

81 

6 

:'                       Omnibus     Eesolu- 

tion 

151 

Fawcett,  Professor  .      77, 

534 

5 

Fazul  Hussain 

Spp.  Representation  by 

6 

Indians    in    Coun- 

cils 

423 

6 

Fitzpatrick,  Sir  Dennis 

162 

Fowler  Mr. 

197 

;    Fuller,  Bamfylde. 

428 

6 

Gadgil,  G.  K. 

Spp.  Indians  in  C  o  1  o- 

6 

nies 
,,      Indian     Expendi- 

479 

;      6 

ture 

578 

Gaekwar  of  Bai  oda  172,  352, 

460 

6 

Visited  Congress  . 
Gajar,  Prof. 

450 

6 

Member  C.  I. 
Gajendranath  Tagore 

.331 

5    i 

Member,  I.  C.  C. 
Ganapati,     Sadhu,    vide    G. 

301 

Gandhi,  M.  K.     .          .          . 

499 

6 

M   South  African  ques- 

tion 

340 

6 

Ganesh    Nagesh 

Member  I.  C.  C.    . 

331 

Gangadhar      Rao      Madhav 

Chitnavis 

5 

Serves    on    the    Public 
Service     Commis- 

6   ' 

sion 

32 

455 

Member,  D.  V.       . 
Gaiiga  Prasad  Varma 

Attended    the   1st  Con- 

204 

498 

gress      .         .          .          . 

6 

280 

Member,  P.  S.  C. 

32 

125 

R.  C.        . 

52 

670 


HOW    INDIA    WKOUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Member  C.  C.  C. 

135 

Ghose,      C  h  a  r  u  c  h  a  n  d  e  r 

I.  C.  C.      289, 

vide  Charu 

306,  330,  331, 

463 

Ghose,    Jogendrachandra 

„        E.  C.       . 

331 

vide  Joge 

C.  I.        . 

350 

Ghose,  Lai   Mohan  vide    Lai 

s.  c.  c. 

440 

„       Mano      Mohan      vide 

Spp.  Council  Reform     . 

440 

Mano 

Ganf>:uli,  K.  C 

Ghose,    Peary    Lai    vide 

Sc.     Separation  of  Judi- 

Peary 

cial     and     Execu- 

Ghose,    Rash     Behari     vide 

tive  Functions 

555 

Rash 

Gantz,  W.  S. 

Ghosh,  Motilal  vide  Mo 

Member,  R.  C.       . 

51 

Ghulam  Ahmed  Khan 

S.  C. 

38 

Sp.     Simultaneous 

Spp.  Rules  of  the   Con- 

, 

Examinations 

191 

orress     . 

39 

Ghulam    Hasan    Muakhan 

Garland,  Miss 

S]ip.  South    African 

M.       British     contribu- 

question 

360 

tion     to     military 

Ghulam  Rubbani 

expenditure  . 

295 

Spp.  Presidential   Elec- 

Spp. Abkari,  Local   op- 

tion 

108 

tion 

299 

G  i  r  d  a  r  i  1  a  1,    Malik    vide 

Garth,    Sir  Richard 

303 

Malik 

Garud,  D.  S. 

Gladstone       42,61,69,110, 

Sp]).  Welcome   to    Lord 

124,    144,    145,    167,    189, 

Ciirzon  . 

275 

217,  262,  271,  444,  534, 

559 

Garvel,  P.  S. 

Goberdhan  Das 

Sc.      Permanent  Settle- 

Sc. Cotton     E  X  c  i  s  e 

ment 

257 

duties    . 

538 

Gaznavi,  A.  H. 

Goculdas,  K.  Parekh 

Sp.     Repressive      mea- 

Spp. Poverty     and     re- 

sures 

428 

medies  . 

359 

Ghosal,  J. 

Gokal  Chand 

Member,  D.  V. 

204 

Member  D.  V. 

204 

L  C.  C.        306 

330 

Gokaran  Misra 

M.      Congress     Consti- 

M,      Separate    Elector- 

tution    . 

211 

ate 

540 

Sc.     Indian   Mines 

322 

„       Loyalty  to  Throne 

578 

Ghosal,     Lalit    Mohan    vide 

Sc.     Permanent  Settle- 

Lalit 

ment     . 

456 

Ghose,  J.  N. 

„       Executive  C  o  un- 

Sc.     Sanitation 

537 

cils  for   U.  P.  and 

Ghose,  N.  N. 

Panjab . 

515 

Sc.     S  e  p  a  r  ii  t  i  on    oi 

Gokarnath  ]\Iisra 

Judicial     and    Ex- 

Sc.     Poverty 

430 

cutive  Functions   . 

233 

Spp.  Council  Reform 

496 

INDEX    OF    NAMES 


671 


Gokhale,G.K. 

i 

Member,  I.C.C.          330, 

413 

, 

E.  G. 

331 

A.  I.       .     345, 

373 

S.  C.  M. 

391    1 

Secretary,  Standing  C.C. 

440    ! 

„         Surat        C.C. 

470    , 

Delivers       Presidential 

Address 

416    ' 

.M. 

Public    Service 
Commission     Re- 

port 

148 

„ 

Thanks    to      Lord 

Northbrook  . 

175 

Salt-Tax 

221 

,, 

Surpluses 

403 

Welcome  to  T.R.H 

The  Prince  and 

1 

Princess   of  Wales 

422    I 

Omnibus 

431 

]\ 

Surat  C.    C.   . 

470 

,, 

Indians  in  Colonies 

494    i 

Sc. 

Simultaneous    Ex- 

aminations   . 

82 

,^ 

Leafislatipe    Coun- 

cil Reforms   . 

165 

Spp 

J) 

Salt-Tax 
Presidential    Elec- 

113 

tion 

529 

Sp. 

Education 
Simultaneous    Ex- 

131 

aminations    . 

190 

^, 

Expenditure  Com- 

mission 

242 

„ 

Boycott      M  o  V  e- 

ment 

452 

Congratulations  to 

A.  0.  Hume  . 

483 

,, 

Elementary    Edu- 

cation   . 

539 

„ 

Thanks  to  Sir  Wm. 

Wedderburn  . 

520 

Joint  General-Secretary 

413 

Gokhale 

N.  V. 

Sc.     Interpellation     i  n 
Legislative  Council 
preceded  by  expla- 
nations .  .         .   218 
Gokhale,  S.  B. 

Member,  E.  C.        .  331 
Golab  Chandra  Bez  Barna 

Sp.     Medical  Service     .   237 
Goodridge,  J.  P. 

M.       S  e  p  a  r  a  t  i  o  n  of 
Judicial    and    Ex- 
cutive  Functions  .  233 
Sc.     Permanent  Settle- 
ment    .  .  .   241 
Gopaldas  Chamatmal 

Spp.  Reform     of    India 

Council.  .  .   557 

,,     Lo  y  al  t  y  to    the 

Throne  .  .  578 

Sp.     Presidential  Elec- 
tion       .  .  .  553 
Gopal  Menon,  C. 

Sp.  Ideal  Self- Govern- 
ment      .         .         .  556 
Gopal  Rao  Bhide 

Member  C.  C.  C.  .  135 

Govind,  Raoj,  vide  Ra 
Gopinath  Misra 

Sc.  Poverty     of    India.   170 
Spp.  Minto-Morley  Re- 
forms     .         .  .   477 
Gorst,  Sir.  J.         .         .         .77 
Gour,  H.  S. 

Member,  D.  H.       .         .  521 
M.  Separation  of  Judi- 
cial and  Executive 
EunctioDS       .  .   340 

,,      Local  Self-Govern- 

ment       .  .  .  515 

Sc.   Elementary       Edu- 
cation   ....  539 
Sp.   Education  Expendi- 
ture       .         .         .399 
Govind  Bukshi 

Member  S.  C.        .         .     37 
„       R.  C.         .         .     52 


672 


HOW     INDIA    WKOUOlir    KOK    h'K'KIODOM 


(!()\iii(l  Who  Ai)aii   I\ili'l 

Sp.      Kin'lwny  Scrx  ice   .  'MVA 

Sp]>.  S  (>  p  a  r  a  1  i  o  ti  of 

.luilii'ial    and    I']xi>- 

iMitivr  I'^iiict  ions   .   48l 

(ioviiularayliaxa  Aivar,  L,  A. 

M.       l\>riiiaTi('iil  Scllli"- 

mcnl  .  .    ;'>SL' 

,,        V]  1  ('  111  ('  II  (.  a  I"  y 

lOiliicalion      .  .   tVJS 

,,         Indians     in     i   li  o 

Ooliinics         .  .   55-4 

Sf.       I'oviTty  .    lOl 

,,        Si'll'-(  i()\ crniiu'iit  .    I'.");") 
„        Sural.  I'.  ('.    .  .    170 

„        Coinu'il        iu'ronn 

•1.22,  4!)() 
,,  iii)\  ally  It)  'I'liroiic  577 
S|i)).  rn-sidcnlial    Klcc- 

ii..n         .  .   -M):.' 

„      M  i  n  I  u  M or Iry 

llcrorins         .  .  477 

Sp.      Hoycott  Movonicnt  452 
(lovinda  Shiii  Sliarina 

Spp.  Military  Si>rvico    .   481 
„      11  iyli      prii'cs      o  i" 

iood-sliiIVs  .    :)01 

(Irani,  I'liarlos       .  .  .      ()4 

(IruM., 

M.    Oiimihns  .  .   2s:? 

(iiilia 

Spp.  Tovcrly  .  .   'MO 

( Jnlia,  Anani  lia    ISandlui  i  iili' 
Anaiil  .... 

Ciipla,  N. 

M.MiiiuM-  r.  !..  I'.         .  ;u)i. 

('.  I,.  T. .         .  :?04 
(liijila,  K.   V. 

Spp.  Mililary    Trainiiit;' 

and   Voliinlocrs      .    570 
( iiinininkli  Sinu'li 

So.      Military    St-rviio    .   500 
(iiirin'haran  Sin,t;li 

Sr.      Military  Service    .    lUS 
Spp.  I'residenI  ial    KliH'- 

tioii  .  .    H() 


Sp.     rernianeni  Seltle- 

int-nl      .  .171 

( i  lira  Prasad  Sen 

MeinI.er,   i".   S.  0.  .      ;{2 

S.  C.         .  .      H7 

n.  C.  .     .52 

C.  C.  C.  .  .    i:55 

M.      Trial  by  Jury         .    151 

(Jiiriiswanii  .\iyar,  K.  I{. 

Spp.   I'liiiployment        o  f 
Indians    in    Piihlie  • 
Servi.'e.  .    424 

(iyam>sln\ai'a  Siisti-i 

Sj)]).  Military  Mxpendi- 
liir(>,  liritisli  eon- 
iribution  .   2!>() 

Se.  .\  jr  1-  i  I-  n  1  t  u  r  11  1 
Hanks,  1  n  d  i  n  n  s 
on  C"eininitle(>         .   '^20 

II  AltllU'I.I.A    .SahAH 

Sp]i.  Oniiiiliiis      K'l^sdlii- 

lion  .    2S:^ 

lliiday.U    Hakshi 

Sp.      r.arlilion    of    Heli- 
cal .  .    4.27 
Hajeo    Malionied     \  h  d  u  1 
Sliakoor    Badsliaw     Saliib 
l\Teniber  \{.  C.  .51 
llakanu'hand,  Lala 

Spp    Mxeeiitixc       Coun- 
cils        .  .  .  497 
llalilax,  l,ord         .           .           .   416 
llamid  AH    ....      H2 
Hans  Kaj,  Lal.'i 

Sc.    rr.'sidential      Kliv- 

lion  .  .  .    :U2 

llai-bhaiiJivaii  Das,  Lala 

M.    Panjab    M  i'  .ij  ii  I  a  - 

(ion  Province    .  .   '.i\H 

St-.  Anns  Act  .  .     85 

llardio,  Iveir  .  .  476 

Hamilton,  Lord  (ieoPKO  200,  280 

llard(>orain  Nanabliai    Uari- 

das 

Sji.     C'iviliaii  .liid.n'tvs     .    'M\2 
llardiiiLrc.  I,ord  '.  .   52<» 


INJ)KX    01'"    NAMES 


673 


li:irkiHh.'ui   Lai 

M.'Uihcr       I).  V.       :v2(;,  r)2l 
I.  CO.  .  -.VM 

K.  C.  .  :i:n 

„  (J.  I.  .  :mo 

C.  C.  .  4i:j 

S.  C.  C.        .  440 
S.  C.   M.       .  a!)2 
A.  I.        345,  :5-2 
Wi-lc()iii(!a  Deleu-ali's      .    l!)! 
Spp.   Miiit()-Morl(>y    Ro- 

roi'ins  .  .   477 

Tlarikishiiii  Siiiha 

Spj).    Ijoviilty  to  'riii-oiic  578 
llari  Prasad  Cliattcrji 

Spj).    Kducatiuii      .  .152 

„      University      Hill      .   388 
llari  Hani  Paiulay 

Mcnil.cr  K.    C.       .  .   331 

S|i|i.    British    Goiitribii- 
tioii     to     Military 
ExjKinditun- .         .  296 
liariscliaiidru,  V.  C.      .  .2 

llarifhandrai   Yisliaiidas 
M.       S  c  J)  a  rati  o  n  nf 
Judicial   and    Kxc- 
(•iili\('  Kiini'tions  .  405 
Sp|).   Kdiicational      K  x- 

|)<'nditiir('  .  453 

„      Parlilion    ol    Hcn- 

pral  .  .'4S0 

„      Council   Kcforuis  .  49(5 
„      Council        |{  c  f,'  u- 

lations  .  .  .   5l8 

Sp.  A  p  p  o  i  n  t  in  o  n  t 
ol'  S(!ci-(!tari('s  to 
Conjri'OHS        .  .   562 

Welcomes  delefjatea      .  552 
Ilarnani  Das 

Sp]).   Council  Hrrnrnis   .   496 
HuHun  In)ani 

]n\it('s      Conj^ress      to 
Hanki))ui-  .  .  540 

nuHhnnit  Jltisain 

Spp.  I'a  n  j  a  li     \j  a  n  d 

Alienation   Hill       .   295 


Hearsay,  Cajitain 

S(-.      Prostitution    hi.\v   . 

70 

Hem  Chandra  llai 

M.      Trial  by  Jury 

236 

rtc.      Election    of     Uni- 

versity follows 

377 

llcranilja     Chandra    Maiti-a 

Member  E.  C. 

331 

M.       E  d  n  c  ational  Ex- 

penditure 

130 

,,        U  (fi  c  i  a  Using  ,,f 

Education 

428 

Sc.      Kilucational        Ex- 

jx'uditure 

152 

Hiranand  Kliem  Sinj-h 

Sc.      Permanent  Settle- 

ment 

561 

Hirondranath  Datta 

Sc.      Exjjcnditure  Com- 

mission 

257 

M.        National      Educa- 

tion 

453 

llewett,  Sir  John           .      2], 

511 

llobliouso,  Lord             .    261, 

303 

Howard         .          .          .          . 

534 

Howard,  .1.   E. 

Ajipointed  C.  R.  E. 

95 

Sp.  Prostitution    . 

70 

Hume,  A.  0. 

M.      Presidential  Elec- 

tion 

6 

Members.  C.          .          [ 

38 

li  c. 

52 

C.  C.  C.  . 

135 

C.  R.  E.         95, 

120 

Presents  report  on 

Rules 

51 

(>en.  Secretarv    74,  95, 

"  121,  IR), 

161 

Hume,  Rev.  R    A. 

Spp.  Minto-Morley  Re- 

forms   . 

477 

S]).     Abkari 

81 

674 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


PAGE 


Hun  Chandra  Rai 

Spp.  Sep  a  r  a  t  i  on  of 
Judicial    and    Ex- 
ecutive  Functions  150 
Hunter,  Sir  William        125, 

190,  302 
Ibrahim  Nourdien  Muqua- 

DAM 

Spp.  Indians  m  Colonies  479 
Ibrahim   Raliimtnlla 

Member  I.  C.  C.    .  .413 

Ikbal  Shankar 

Member  P.  L.  C.  .  .  304 

C.  L.  T.  .  .  304 

Iqbal  Narain  Musaldan 

Spp.  Indian  Expenditure  5?^, 
Irwin,  H.C.  .  .  .186 

Ismail  Khan  Sheraji 

Spp.  National  Education  454 
Ishvar    Das 

Member  E.  C.        .  .331 

Ishvar  Saran 

Spp.  Swadeshi        .  .  480 

„     South   African  Af- 
fairs  .  .  .  49.) 
Sp.    Police  Reform         .  426 
Iswari  Lai  Sircar 

Member   R.  C.       .  .     52 

Jackson         ....  494 
Jadunath  Majumdar 

Sjjp.   Famine  .  .341 

Jagadindranath  Maharaja 

Welcomes  delegates  .  334 
Jaikishan  Mukerji 

M.  Election  of  President  16 
Jaishi  Ram 

Member  U.  V.         .  .  204 

„      1.  C.  C.      .   289,  bu7 
„        P.  L.  C.       .  .   304 

„       C  L.  T.        .         .  304 
Sc.      Legislative   Coun- 
cil for  the  Panjab  .    193 
„       British      contribu- 
tion    to     Military 
expenditure  .  .  256 


Sc.     Congress  constitu- 
tion 
Spp.   Election  of  Presi- 
dent 
Jakatdan,  V.  N. 

Spp.  Police  Reform 
Jambulinga  Mudaliar 
Member  I.  C.  C.    . 
E.  C.        . 
M.       Indian    Famine 

Enquiry 
,,        Criminal        proce- 
dure 
Sc.     Expenditure 
Sp.     Legislative    Coini- 
cil  Reform     . 
James  (Commissioner) 
Janardan,   Raghunath  Nim- 
kar    ..... 
Jardine,  Sir  John  .  346, 

Jatindranath  Sen 

Spp.  Sanitation 
Jayaswal       .... 
Jehangir  B.  Petit 

Spp.  Minto-Morley   Re- 
forms   . 
„      Ideal  Self-Govern- 
nient     . 
Sp.     Representation  in 
the       House        of 
Commons 
Jenkins,    Sir  L.    . 
Jhenda  Singh,  Sirdar 

Member  I.  C.   C.    . 
Jinnah,  M.  A. 

M.   Separate    Electo- 
rates 
,,     India  Council   Re- 
form 
Sc.   Validity  of  Wakf-i- 

ala-aulad. 
Spp.  Self-Government  . 
„     Miuto-Morley  Re- 
forms   . 
Delegate  to  England 


211 
271 
541 

307 
332 

189 

274 
212 

167 
215 

149 

406 

537 
561 


477 
556 


404 
560 

307 


518 

556 

450 
455 

477 
584 


INDEX    OF    NAMES 


675 


Jinnah,  M.   H. 

Member  D.  V.        .         .  521 
Jitendralal   Bannerji 

Sc.   Swadeshi.        .  .   514 

Spp.  Elementary    Edu- 
cation. .  .   539 
Jogendi-a  Chandra  Ghose 
M.   Inland    Emigration 

Act.      .  .  .    240 

„       Assam  labour.       .   343 
Jogendranath  Bose 

Sc.  Indian  Expenditure  578 
Jogendranath  Mukerji 

M.      Civilian  Judges     .   362 
,,        Separation   of 
Judicial  and    Exe- 
cutive Functions   .   514 
„       Judicial       Service 

reconstruction       .   514 
Jogiah,  V.  V. 

M.      Military  Expendi- 
ture      .  .  .  480 
„       Simultaneous  Ex- 
aminations   .  .   541 
„       Public   Service 

Conimission  .  559 

Sp.     Police  Reform       .  426 
Joshi,  M.  V. 

Member    I.    C.  C.    307, 

330,  413 
E.  C.      .         .  332 
M.       Appointment      of 
Gokhale    as    dele- 
gate      .  .  .   431 
Sc.     Pi-esidential  Elec- 
tion      .          .         .   252 
Spp.  Legal    Practition- 
ers        .          .  .218 
,,       Congress     Consti- 
tution .          .  .  ^82 
Sp.     Simultaneous   Ex- 
aminations   .  .190 
Joshi,  V.  G. 

Spp.  Police  Reform        .  445 
Joshi,    V.  R. 

Spp.  Swadeshi       .  .  455 

50 


PAGE 

Joshi,  Kesava  Vinayak  vide 

Kesava 
Jolii,  Nam  inde  Nam 
Joy,  Govind  Shome 

Member  R.  C.      .         .52 
Jussawala 

Member  D.  V.       .  .   204 

Kale,  V.  G. 

Sc.  High  Prices  .  501 
„  Industries  .  .  582 
Spp.    Coercive    powers 

of       Government  260 
Kalicharan  Bannerji 

Member  R.  C.        .  .52 

1.  C.  C.    .         .  306 
Appointed,    C.  R.  E.     .   120 
M.     Omnibus      Resolu- 
tion        .  .  .81 
,,      Separation  of  Judi- 
cial   and  Executive 
Functions        .  .  168 
,,      Simultaneous   Exa- 
minations      .          .216 
„      Teaching     Univer- 
sity        .         .         .  239 
„      Political    Meetings  299 
„      Judicial  Committee  340 
Kali  Prasanna  Kavyabisha- 
rad 

Member  I.  C.  C. 
Spp.  Criminal   Proce- 
dure 

„       Separation  of  Judi- 
cial and  Executive 
Functions  315,  34u,  362 
Sp.    Petition  to  Parlia- 
ment 
„       Police  Reform 
Kali  Prasanna  Rai 

Member   D.  V.      . 
I.  C.  C.    . 
Welcomes  delegates 
Spp.  Separation  of  Judi. 
cial  and  Executive 
Functions      .         .  405. 


330 
275 


153 
426 

204 
330 
311 


676 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Kiilyanasunrlram  Iyer 

Spp.  Perinanent  Settle- 
ment 
Kanakya  Lai 

Sc.     FoiTod  laboui-  tnirl 
Supplies 
Kane,  Rajpal  ride  R 

Sc.      Simultaneous  Kxa- 
minations 
Kanyalal 

Serves    on    the    Public- 
Service    Commission 

Kanhayalal 

Member  1.  C.  C.    .  307, 
Spp.  Panjab  Lanrl  Alie- 
nation Bill     . 
Sp.     Legislative   Coun- 
cil for  Panjab 

Karandikar,B.  P. 
MeniV>er  R.  C. 

..      I.e.  C. 


289, 
307, 


M. 


Sc. 


Forest  laws.    . 
Police  Reform. 
Indian  Mints  . 
,,     Trial  by  Jury. 
,,     Educational  expen- 
diture 
,,     Elementary   educa- 
tion. 
Spp.  Military     Colleges 
and  Service   . 
,,      Legislative     Coun- 
cil Reform     . 
Agricultural  indeb- 
tedness and    Land 
Tenure. 
„      Rules     . 
Karunakara  Menon 
Member  E.  C. 
M.     High  prices 
Sc.    Partition   of 

gal. 
Spp.  Educational 
penditure. 


Sp. 


Ben 


185 
17o 
541 

32 

330 

295 

15.4 

52 

:\30 

153 
540 
173 
2^6 

399 

539 

315 

422 

218 
39 

332 

483 

516 
453 


Kashi  Prasad 

F.  G.         .         .2 
Services  on  the  P.  S.  C.     32 
Kashi  Ram 

Member    I.  C.  C.  .331 

Kasturiranga  Iyengar 

Member  E.  C.      .         .  332 
Keav,  Sevniour 

M.  Poverty  .  .    186 

Sp.    Simultaneous  Exa- 
minations     .  .    191 
,,    Press  Coercion         .   216 
Kelkar,  H.  Y. 

Member   f.  C.  C.  .  .   307 

Kelkar,  X.  C. 

M.      Military      Service 
and  Military  Colle- 
ges        .         .         .  364 
Sc.      Executive     Coun- 
cils       .  .  .   258 
,,       Secret  Press  Com- 
mittee .                   .  .277 
Kcmchand,  T. 

Sp.      Legislative   Coun- 
cil Reform     .  .166 
Kennedy  Priugle 

M.      Military  Expendi- 
ture       .  .  .125 
Sp.     Police  administra- 
tion       .          .          .66 
„       Permanent  Settle- 
ment    .                    .   125 
,,       Agricultural  banks   125 
Kesava  Pillai,  P. 

Attended  the    1st    Con- 
gress    ...       6 
Member,  1.  C.  C.  .         .  330 
C.  I.        .         .  331 
Sc.     Forest  laws  .  .   153 

„       Reciprocity  .  .   581 

Spj).  Coercive      jjowers 

of  Government      .  260 
Keshava  Vinayak  Joshi 

Spp.  Education  .   152 

Sp.     Legislative    Coun- 
cil Reform  .   166 


INDEX    OP    NAMES 


677 


Sp.     Permanent  Settle- 
ment 
Keshub  Chander  Sen  . 
Khaparde,  G.  S. 

Welcomes  dele<<ates 
Member  I.  C.  C.   .     307, 

E.  C.       . 
^f.     Local  Self-Govern- 
ment 
Spp.  Legislative    Coun- 
cil Reform 
,,    Quarantine  at  Bom- 
bay. 
Sp.    Permanent  Settle- 
ment 
,,     Repressive     M  e  a- 
sures 
Kliare,  D.  A    vidp  Daji 
„       S.  Y. 
Spp.  Educational  expen- 
diture 
Klioja  Muhammad  Xoor 
Spp.  As:riciilture   . 
„      Swadeshi 
Khoja  Attikulla 

M.   Partition   of  Beni-al 
Kishindas  Jhamrai 

Sp.  Press  Act  Reju'al    . 
Kitchener,  Lord. 
Krishna  Baldeo  Varma 

Spp.  Omnibus     Resolu- 
tion 
„        Military    Collep;es 

and  Service  . 
,,        ^lilitary    expendi- 
ture 
Krishnadas  Rai 

Spp.  Arms  Act. 
Krishna  Iyer,  A.  R. 

Sc.  South  African  ques- 
tion 
Sp.   Judicial  Service 
Krishna  Kumar  Mitra 
Member  E.  C. 
Spp.  p]  m  i  g  r  a  t  i  o  n  to 
Canada 


Krishna  Nair 

171 

M.    Madras     i\Iunicipal 

319 

bill 
„    Separation  of.  Judi- 

385 

252 

cial  and  Executive 

330 

Functions 

460 

332 

„     Partition  of  Bengal. 
Sc.     Tata    Research 

479 

278 

Instittite 
Spp.  Employ  m  e  n  t    of 

361 

422 

Indians. 

898 

Krishna  Rao,  AS. 

430 

M.      Permanent  Settle- 

ment    . 

561 

172 

„       India  Council   Re- 

form 

583 

4.28 

Sc.    Press  and  Sedition 

Acts 

517 

Spi^.     Lett  rex  ill-   Carhi'f 

500 

,,       Reform     of     India 

453 

Council 

556 

K 

•ishna  Rao,  D.  V. 

343 

Spp.  Swadeshi 

514 

454 

K 

•ishna  Rao,  K.  R.  V. 

M.      Industries     . 

581 

451 

Krishna  Rao,  Vaman 

Member,  I.  C.  C.    . 

330 

561 

Krishnamachariar 

578 

Sc.    Tata  Researdi  In- 

stitute  . 

362 

K 

rishnaswamv  Iver,  \. 

302 

Member, 'l.  C.  C.  . 

M.      Executive     Coun- 

413 

315 

cil     for     Bombay 

and  Madras 

282 

425 

„       Representation   in 
the  House  of  Com- 

580 

mons     . 
Sc.     ^lilitary   Expendi- 

403 

ture 

384 

360 

Spp.  Periodical    Parlia- 

192 

mentary    Enquiry 
Sp.    Repressive    Meas- 

423 

831 

ures 

Vote  of  Thanks  to 

428 

558 

R.  B.  Ghosc 

484 

678 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOK    FREEDOM 


473 

477 


46 


330 


330,  413 
,  331 
.  331 

440 


466 

582 

172 
318 


Death  .         .         .538 

Krishnaswamy  Rao,  K. 
Welcomes   delegates 
M.  Outrages 
Kumar  Dutt,  A. 

Sp.     Legislative  Coun- 
cil  Expansion 
Kumar     Manmathnath    Rai 
Choudhuri  vide  Ciioudhuri 
Member  I.  C.  C. 
Lajpat  Rai,  Lala 
Member  I.  C.  G 

C.  I.   . 
E.  C.  . 
S.  C.  C.       . 
Suggested   for   P  r  e  s  i- 
deutship 

Delegate  to  England     . 
M.   Technical       Educa- 
tion. 

Education  and  In- 
dustry    . 
Sc.    Indians  in  Colonies  554 
Sp.  Reform  of  Legisla- 
tive Council    .  .      62 
Repressive     m  e  a- 
sures.      .         .  .  "^28 
Swadeshi         .  .   454 
Lakshminarayan,  Dewan 

Sc.     Esecutive  Council    497 
Laksminarayan  Sinha 

Spp.  South    African 
question 
Lakshminarayan,  Pandit 
One  of    the  Fathers  of 
the  Congress  . 
Lakshminath  Bezbarna 
Sp.     Trial  by  Jury 
Lalchand 

Member,  C.I. 

„        E.C.        .         , 

Lalchand  Navalrai 

Spp.  Separation  of  Judi- 
cial and  E.xecutive 
Functions      .  .   555 


583 


152 

331 
331 


Lalit  Chandra  Sen 

Member,  C.  I.         .  .  3:S0 

Lai  Mohan  Ghose 

Delivers       Presidential 
Address  .  .  .  375 

M.      Deaths     of     Lord 

Stanley, etc.  .  379 

„       Omnibus     Resolu- 
tion      ,  .  .385 
,,       Thanks    to    Presi- 
dent     .          .  .  457 
Sp.     Legislative  Council 

Reform  Bill  .   110 

Lala  Ram 

Spp.  Panjab  Laud  Alie- 
nation Bill     .  .   500 
Lalit  Mohan  Ght^sal 

Spp.  Assam  Labour       .   343 
„      Indians     in    Colo- 
nies      .  .  .   448 
Lalkaka        .         .         .         .494 
Lansdowne,  Lord          .         •.  1'^ 
Lawrence,  Sir  Henry  .         .  20P 
Sir  John        .     42 
Lord     .         .  276 
Lily,  Sir  Frederick  .  423 
Lokamal  Chellaram 

Spp.  Swadeshi       .  .  514 

Lutchman  Panday 

Sp.   South  African  ques- 
tion.       .  .  .499 
Lytton,  Lord  57,  64,  238  272, 

398,  415,  559 
Macaulay  .  .  .35,415 
Macdonald,  Ramsay  .  .  529 
Macdonell,  Sir  Antony  .  4ii3 

Macdonell,  A.  P.  .  .  122 

Maclaren,  W.  S.  Bright        .     94 
Madan  Mohan  Malaviya 

Delivers       Presidential 

Address     .  .  .492 

Appointed     A.    I.    345,  372 

S.  C.  M.     .  392 

Member  S.  C.        .         .38 

R.  C.       .         .     52 

C.  C.  C.  .  136 


INDEX    OF    NAMES 


679 


PAGE 


Member  I. 


C.    C.    289, 
306,  330, 


413 

C.  I.  .  .  331 
E.  C.  .  .  331 
CI.  .  .  350 
S.  C.  C.  .  440 

M.      Poverty  of  India  .    169 
„        Legislative   Coun- 
cil for  Panjab        .    193 
„        Expenditui-e  Com- 
mission. .  .   256 
,,       Permanent  Settle- 
ment    .          .          .  320 
„       Thanks  to  Chair   .  431 
Death  of  Lord  Bi- 
pon,  etc.         .  .  502 
„       Thanks  to   B.  C.   .   501 
„                  ,,           Volnn- 

teers      .  .  .   oOl 

„        Appointment       of 

Secretaries    .  .  501 

Sc.     Military    expendi- 
ture      .  .  .152 
Famine.          .          .  302 
,,       Swadeshi       .          .  454 
„       Representation   in 
the  House  of  Com- 
mons    .          .  .  404 
„       Public  Service 
Commission    R  e  - 
port       .          .          .143 
Spp.  Legislative  Council 

reform  80,  HO 

.,     Election  of  Presid- 
ent       ..         .  252 
„     British  Committee  338 
„     Minto-Morley   Re- 
forms    .         .         .  477 
„     Tata  Research  In- 
stitute .  .  .  375 
„     U  n  i  v  e  r  sity   Bill 

protest  .         .  .   383 

,,     Boycott  uiovement  452 
„     Presidential    elec- 
tion      .  .  394 


Spp.  Presidential   Elec- 
tion      .         .         .  511 
Sp.     Reform  of    Legis- 
lative Council        .     43 
„      Income-tax    .         .     67 
„      Grievances    .  .     88 

„      Military    expendi- 
ture      .  .         •  127 
,,       Expenditure  .   212 
,,        Provincial  finance  234 
Madanjit 

M.      Indians      in      the 

Colonies  .  .  425 

Spp.  Indians      in       the 

Colonies  .  .  448 

Sp.     Indians      in       the 

Colonies         .  .  40l 

Madhava  Rao,  Sir  T. 

Welcomes  delegates       .     37 
Sc.     Reform    of    Legis- 
lative Council        .     40 
Death    .         .         .  .123 

Madholal 

Member  P.  L.  C.  .  304 

D.  V.       .  .  326 

I.     C.    C.         .  330 

C.    L.    T.         .  304 

Welcomes  delegates       .  4l6 

Mahadev  G.  Ranade 

Present  at  the  Congress  5,  37 
Death    .         ,         .         .355 
Mahajani,  R.  Y. 

Spp.  Poverty  .         .  401 

„      Swadeshi         .  .  480 

Mahant  of  Tirnpati        .  .     36 

Maharaja  of  Cochin       .  .     36 

Maharaja  of  Davbhanga  37,    271 
,,  Lends  his  Low- 

ther  Castle  for 
Congress  .  .   141 

Member  D.  V.       .         .   204 
Maharaja  of  Mysore  36,  193,  474 
,,  Xatore 

M.   Congratulations    t  o 

Queen-Empress       .  223 
Maharaja  of  Travancore       .     36 


680 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT     FOR    FRKKI^OM 


Maliai'.ijit  ol'  Vijayanafiiirani 

36 

Appointed  C.  R.  E. 

120 

,,             Rana  of  Jhalla- 

M.      S  i  m  n  1  t  an  e  (;u.« 

war 

241 

Examinations 

65 

Maheshwara  Prasad 

„       Protest  against 

Sc.    Press  Coercion 

302 

Bengal      Goveru- 

Spp.  Education     C  o  in- 

1                       ment's  order    pro- 

niissioii. 

342 

hibiting     Govern- 

Maitra,  Heraniba     Chandra 

ment    s  e  r  \'  a  n  t  s 

cide  Heraniba 

fro  m     attending 

Maitra,  G.L. 

;                       Congress 

108 

Member,  E.  C. 

331 

j              „        S  e  p  a  ra  t  i  0  n    of 

Maitra,  P.  C. 

Judicial    and  Exe- 

Spp. Self-Governiuent  . 

4oo 

cutive  Functions   . 

215 

Malabari,  B.  M. 

Present  at  1st  Congress 
Malaviya,    Madan    Mohan 

6 

Death    .         .          .         . 
Markby,  Sir  William    . 
Mathra  Das 

230 
303 

424 

cide  Madan 

Spp.  Surplus 

Malaviya,    Ram    Kanta  ride 

Ram 
Malik  (lirdharilal 

Panjab  Land  Alie- 
nation Act     . 

500 

„      Ideal  Self-Govern- 

ment     . 
„      Public    Service 

556 

Spp.  South  Africa 
Mallick,  Sarat  K.  vide  Sarat 

499 

Commission 

559 

]\Ian  Sino-h 

J                „      Permanent  Settle- 

M.     Military  Service    . 

314 

ment     . 

561 

Mana  Vikarma  Raja 

Mazaral  Ilaq 

Mendjer  D.  V.' 

204 

Delegate  to  England 

584 

Sp.     Permanent  Settle- 

Sc.    Separate    Elector- 

ment 

185 

ates 

518 

Mandalik,  Y.  N. 

McKinley    .          .         .          . 

335 

F.  C 

2 

Meghan  Ram 

Manekji  K.  Patel 

Sp.     Forest  laws 

170 

Spp.  Poverty 

401 

Mehr  Singh  Chowla 

,,     P  o  V  e  r  t  3'  a  n  d 

Sp.     Panjab  Land  Alie- 

remedies 

359 

nation 

500 

„       Railway  Service  . 

363 

Mehta  Bahadur  Chand 

(.^fficialisinfj'     edu- 

Spp. Permanent  Settle- 

cation   . 

430 

ment 

456 

,,       National  e  d  u  c  a- 

Meiita,  F,  M.  vide  Pheroze- 

tion 

454 

shah 

Manila),  Doctor 

Mehta,  R.  D. 

Sc.    Indians  in  Colonies 

513    i 

Spp.  South     A  f  r  i  c  a  n 

Spp.  Indians     in    Colo- 

Affairs 

237 

nies 

542 

Sp.      Grievances  . 

112 

Manoniohan  Ghose 

Metcalfe,  Sir  Charles   .      17, 

559 

Welcomes  delegates 

108 

Mill 

575 

INDEX    01'    NAMES 


681 


Milton  .  .319,  o75,  579 

Minto,  Lord  and  Lady  .  417 

Mir  Huraayun  J  ah  Bahadur 

Member  R.C.        .  .51 

Mir  Xisar  Ali  Shokrat 

Spp.  Permanent  Settle- 
ment .  .    172 
Misra   Gokarnath  ride  (loka 
,,        (ropinath    cide    Gopi 
Mitra    Akhoy    Kumar     ride 

Akhoy 
Mitra,    Ambikacharan     ride 

Ambika 
Mitra,  Ch;iruehander    ride 

Charu 
Mitra,  G.  C. 

Sp.     Prostitution  .   169 

Mitra,  G.  C. 

M.      Abkari  .         .  299 

Mitra,  N.  X. 

Sp.    Police    .  .362 

Mitra,  P.  C. 

Spp.  Indian    Council 

Refoim  .  .   583 

Mitra,  S.  B. 

Spp.  Self-Government  .  455 
Mitra,  Krishna  Kumar   ride 

Krishna 
Mitra,  Pravesh  Chandra  ride 

Pravesh 
Mitra,  Dr.   Rajendralal    ride 

Ba 
Mitra, Roniesh  Chander  ride 

Ro 
Mitra,  Taraknath    vide    Tar 
„      Trilokyanath  ride  Tri 
Modak,  V.  V. 

Sp.    Press  Coercion       .  216 
Mohanlal 

Sp.    Executive  and 

Bench   .  .  .    173 

Mohani  Mohan  C hatter ji 

Member  C.I.         .  '        .   330 
Moore,  Colonel  .  .183 

Morlev,  Lord  337,  400,  473 


Motilal  Ghosh 

F   C.     .         .         .2 
Member  I.  C.  C.    .  .   330 

Serves  on  the  P.  S.  C.  .     32 
Sc.     Parliamentary  Re- 
presentation. .   263 
Mookkanasari 

Sp.     'I'echnical      educa- 
tion       .  .         .     49 
Morgan-Browne 

Sc       Indian  Finance 

Enquiry         .  .   1H'.> 

Mozumdar,      A  m  bi  kac  h  ara  u 
ride  Ambika 

Sp.     Sedition  laws         .   26T 
Mozumdar,  A.K.  vide  Akhoy 
,,  Jagannath     vide 

.lagan 
Mudholkar,  R.  N. 

Secretary,  C.  C.    .  .  28^ 

Presents      Constitution 

report  .  .   295 

Member   I.  C.  C.        306,  330 

C.  C.  C.  .   135 

D.  V.  .  .  326 
C.  I.  .  .  331 
C.  C.        .         .  413 

E.  C.  .  .  332 
A.  I.  .   345,  372 

Appointed  C.  R.  E.  .  95 
S.  CM.  .  392 
S.  C.  C.       .  440 

C.  L.  T.       .  304 

D.  H.  .  521 
Deliveretl     Presidential 
Address          .          .  .  551 
]M.      Permanent  settle- 
ment     .          .          .    114 
vSeparation    of  Ju- 
dicial   and  Execu- 
tive Functions       .    149" 
Legislative   Coun- 
cil reform      .          .   165 
Agricultural       in- 
debtedness   .          .  217 
Povertv     239,  339,  400 


682 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


M. 

Technical    Educa- 

tion 

282 

,j 

Famine 

302 

„ 

Presidential   Elec- 

tion 

553 

,, 

Military    Colleges 

and  Volunteers 

578 

Sc. 

Military    expendi- 

ture 

125 

„ 

Abolition   of  India 

Council 

189 

,j 

Sedition  laws 

261 

,, 

Presidential   Elec- 

tion         .  271,  474,  529 

,j 

Famine     Enquiry 

313 

,j 

Reuniting     of 

Bengal 

533 

,, 

Surplus  utilisation 

424 

„ 

Ideal    of    Self-Go- 

vornment  . 

556 

Spp 

Presidential    elec- 
tion 207,  235,  416, 

511, 

572 

,j 

University  Bill. 

383 

„ 

Partition  of   Ben- 

gnl 

451 

5) 

Minto-Morley    Re- 

forms   . 

477 

Sp. 

Police  administra- 

tion 

66 

» 

Magistrate's 

powers 

195 

n 

Partition    of 

Bengal                406, 

427 

Muhammad  AH  Choiuilmri 

Spp 

Reuniting  of  Ben- 

gal         ,.          , 

534 

Muhammad  Hafiz 

Spp. 

Prostitution  . 

70 

Muhammad  R  a  h  i  m  tullah 

Sayani 

vide  Sayani 

Delivered     Presidential 

Add 

•ess 

231 

Muhamrr 

ad   Sujjad  Hussain 

M. 

Omnibus      Resolu- 

tion 

302 

Muhammad  Yusuf 

M.     Validity  of  Wakf-i 

ala-aulad 

460 

Muhurrum  Ali  Ghisti 

Sc.    Presidential    Elec- 

tion. 

163 

„     Cadet  corps   . 

342 

Spp.  Presidential    Elec- 

tion. 

3!2 

„     Famine  Enquiry  . 

314 

„     Deputation  to  Vice 

roy.        . 

318 

„     British  Committee 

338 

Sp.   Poverty. 

170 

Mukerji,  Jaikishan  ride  Jai 

Mukerji,  Jogendranath  ^nde 

Jog 

Mukei-ji,  Peary  Mohan  vide 

Peary 

Mule,  N.  B. 

Member,  D.    V. 

204 

MuUick,  S.  K. 

Sp.    Self-Grovernment  . 

455 

Munji,  B.  S. 

Spp.  Indians  in  the  Co- 

lonies    . 

425 

Sp.     Indians  in  the  Co- 

lonies   . 

401 

Munro,  Sir  Thomas          215, 

575 

Murlidhar,  Lala 

Member  S.  C.        . 

38 

R.  C.       . 

52 

C.  C.  C. 

135 

D.  V.       . 

204 

P.  L.  C. 

304 

M.      Thanks    to     the 

President 

303 

Spp.    S  e  p  a  r  ation     of 

Judicial  and  Execu- 

tive Functions 

151 

„       Legislative  Coun- 

cil for  the  Panjab 

154 

„       Poverty 

187 

„       Panjab  Land  Alie- 

nation Bill 

295 

INDEX    OF    NAMES 


683 


Spp.  Deputation   to  the 

Viceroy  .  .  318 

„      Official  Secrets 

Bill  .         .  384 

„  Tibetan  Affairs  .  405 
„       Reuniting    of 

Bengal  .  .   533 

Sp.    Trial  by  Jury         .     21 
„       Abkari"  .         .   112 

„       Military  Expendi- 
ture     .         .  .126 
Mushir    Hasan    Kidwai 

M.      Indians    in     Colo- 
nies      .  .  .  478 
Nagarkar,  R.  D. 

Sc.     South      African 

Affairs  .  .  280 

Nagpurkar,  P.  L. 

Member  D.  Y.        .  .  204 

M.      Salt-Tax        .         .  236 
Naidu,  C.  R. 

Spp.  South     African 

Affairs.  .  .  499 

Naidu,  V. 

Sc.     Indian       Councils 

Act        .  .  .  540 

Nair,  S. 

Sc.     Presidential  Elec- 
tion      .  .  .353 
Nair,  S.  K. 

Sc.     Technical    Educa- 
tion       .  .  .   173 
„       Indians       in       the 

Colonies  .  .   382 

Spp.  Civil   and  Military 

Expenditure.  .  215 

„      Omnibus         .  .  302 

„  National  education  454 
„  Swadeshi  .  .  537 
,,       Industries     .  .  582 

Nair,  T.  M. 

Sc.     Medical  Service     .  279 
„       Separation  of 
Judicial     and    Ex- 
ecutive   Functions  297 
Political  Meetings  299 


Nalinaksha  Basu 

Spp.  Repeal  of  Acts  of 

1818      .  .  .  282 

Nam  Joshi,    M.  B. 

Member  S.  C.         .         .     3? 

E.  C.        .         .     51 

C.  C.  C.   .         .  135 

M.      Education      .  .   172 

Spp.  Indian      Council's 

Act        .  .  .146 

Sp.     Magistrate's 

powers .         .         .   195 
Nambiar.  Y.  E. 

Sc.   Congress   Constitu- 
tion      .  .  .  313 
,,       Permanent  Settle- 
ment    .          .          .  321 
„       Police  Reform       .  341 
Nand  Singh  Sikra 

M.   Indians  in  Canada  .  557 
Nandi,  D.  P.  C. 

Sp.  Medical    Service     .  237 
Naudv,  Alfred 

Member  I.  C.  C.      306,  329 

E.  C.       .         .  331 

A.  I.  345,  372 

Sc.  Poverty  of  India     . 

,,       Coercive      powers 

of  Government 
Sp.  Petition  to  Parlia- 
ment    . 
Narayana  Menon 

Sc.  Military  Service 
Narayana  Prasad 

Sc.  Separate  electorates,  540 
Narayana  Rao,  K. 

Sc.     Thanks  to  Gokhale 
and  Lajpat  Rai 
Narayanaswami    Naidu,     C. 
Welcomes  delegates 
Member  C.  C.  C. 
D.  V.        . 
Nareschandra  Sen 

Spp.  Officialising     Edu- 
cation    .  .  .  430 


U 


260 


153 


481 


431 

122 
135 

204 


684 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Nargunti  Kar 

N 

ibaran  Chandra  Das 

Sp.  Police  Ret'orin 

426 

Sc.    Omnibus. 

238 

Nasir-ud-din  Ahiiied 

N: 

ilaratan  Sarkar 

Spp.  Separation  of  Judi- 

Momlier E.   C.       . 

331 

cial  and  Executive 

M.      Medical     Services 

Functions 

295 

237, 

279 

Nasir-ud-din  Kamur-ud-din 

,,       Separation  of  Civil 

Sc.     Calcutta  Municipal 

and    Medical  Ser- 

Act 

299 

vices.   . 

297 

Natarajan,  K. 

Sc.    Medical  Services  . 

343 

Spp.  Poverty 

401 

,,      Public  Services 

Natesan,  F.  G. 

Commission  . 

559 

M.       Indentured  labour 

583 

Spp.  Otficialisiug     Edu- 

Natesan, G.  A. 

cation    . 

430 

M.       Indians     in    Colo- 

„    Educational 

nies                     518, 

583 

Expenditure 

483 

Sc.      Excise   Policy  and 

Ni 

vedita  (Sister) 

administi-ation 

423 

Spp.  Appointment     o  f 

„       Retrenchment     of 

Gokhale    as    dele- 

expenditure 

449 

gate 

431 

Sp]).  Military    expendi- 

Norendranath Sen 

ture 

384 

One   of   the  Fathers  of 

„     South  Africa 

499 

the  Congress. 

2 

Sp.     Educational     e  x  - 

Member  S.  C. 

37 

penditure 

400 

R.  C.        . 

52 

Natu,  Hon.  Mr.    . 

254 

M.      Military      Service 

Sc.     Permanent  Settle- 

for Indians    . 

47 

ment 

185 

„       British       Sessions 

Natu,  K.  G.           ... 

255 

of  the  Congress     . 

116 

Sp.     Separation    of  Ju- 

Spp. Royal  CoTiiniission 

dicial   and  Execu- 

of   en(|uirv     i  n  t  o 

tive  Functions 

151 

Indian       Adminis- 

Natu, N.  G. 

255 

tration  . 

10 

Sc.     Judicial  Service    . 

192 

Northbrook,  Lord 

175 

Natu,  V.  R.            ... 

255 

Norton,  Eardley 
Member  R".  C 

52 

Spp.  Enquiry    into  eco- 
nomic condition    . 

360 

Appointed  C.    E.      R.   . 
M.      Reform  and  exten- 
sion of  the  Legis- 

95 

Sp.     Interpellation 

218 

Nayadu,  C.  V. 

lative  Council 

79 

Spp.  Lejfislative   Coun- 

,,      India      C  o  u  n  c  i  1 

cil  Reform  Bill 

110 

abolition 

187 

Nibaran  Chandra  Das 

,,       Qualifications       of 

Sc.     Education 

172 

Voters  . 

90 

Spp.  Partition    of  Ben- 

Sc.   Presidential    Elec- 

gal. 

516 

tion 

375 

INDEX    OF    NAMES 


685 


Sp.    Ret'oria  nnd  exten- 
sion of  the  Leo'is- 
Isitive  Council        .     4)0 
Xunbkar 

Sp.     Forest  Laws  .    13:5 

Nnssuruddin 

Sp.     Partition    of   Ben- 
gal .  .427 
OuDH  Behari  Lai, 

Sp.     Omnilnis        .  .    1.51 

Padhye,  D.  C. 

M.     Education.      .  .  399 

Sc.      Military   E.\]jendi- 
ture  oxitaide  Fron- 
tier        .  .  .217 
,,       Simultaneous  Exa- 
minations      .  .   234 
Sp.      University   C  o  ni- 

mission   Rejiort      .   361 
Padiive,  M.  K. 

Member  I.  C.  C.    .         .  413 
'  Spp.  Police  Commission  362 
,,      Secretary  of  State's 

Salary   .  .  .402 

„      Educational      E  x- 

penditure  .  453 

Paine,  Thomas      .  .  .75 

Pal,    Bepin     Chandra     viJe 

Bepin 
Palmerston,   Lord  .  .     59 

Panday,  Hari  Ram  vide  Hari 
Panday,     Lakshmana      v/Je 

Lak 
Panday,  Rama  Saran  Lai 
Sp.     Repressive    Meas- 
ures      .  .         .  428 
Pandhya,  D.  G. 

Sc.     Officialising         o  f 
Education 
Pandit,  S.  X. 

Spp.  Pi-esidential  Elec- 
tion      .  .  .  353 
Pandit,  V.  A. 

Spp.   Self-(iOvernment .  455 


Pandit,  V.  R. 

M.       Education  C   o  m- 

mission  .  .  342 

Sp.     Elementary     Edu- 
cation  .  .  .   539 
Pandurang  Bapuji 

Sp.     Permanent  Settle- 
ment .  .219 
Pandurano'  Gopal 

F.   C.  .  .  2 

Pant,  H.  D. 

Spp.  Medical   Service   .   517 
Pantulu 

Sop.  Permanent  Settle- 

meiit     .  .  .  538 

Paramesliwarlal 

Sc.     Behar      Province 

created  .         .  535 

Spp.  Educational     e  x  - 

l)enditure       .  .  483 

Pai-tition  of    Ben- 
gal .  .  .498 
Piiranieswnrani  Pillai,  G. 
M.      Sotith  Africa    217, 

236,  279 
„       Executive      Coun- 
cils        .         .         .  241 
Sp.    Provincial  Finance  23'1. 
Paranjpc,  M. 

Sp.     Cooper's        Hill 

College  .         .319 

Pai-anjpe  S.  P. 

Sc.  Executive  Councils 
f(n"  Bombay  and 
Madras  *.  .   282 

Parekh,     Goculdas,    K.  riclp 
Goculdas 

M.      Q  ti  a  r  a  n  t  i  n  e  ;i  t 

Botnbav         .  .  430 

Spp.   Povertv         .  .  401 

Parekh,  M. 

Sc.     Pei-manent  Settle- 
ment     .  .   382 
Parekh,  G.  K. 

Sc.  Presidential  Elec- 
tion       .  .  .  492 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Parfchasarthy    Naidu,    A.   C. 

Peary  Lai  Ghose 

Sc.     Exchange  Compen- 

Member  E.  C. 

331 

ation  allowance     . 

220 

Sp.     Appointment       to 

„       Abkari  . 

229 

Public  Service 

382 

„      Cooper's  Hill  Col- 

Peary Mohan  Mukerji 

lege 

319 

Serves   on    the  P.  S.  C. 

32 

„       Madras    Municipal 

M.      Presidential   Elec- 

Bill 

385 

tion 

442 

„       High  Prices  . 

483 

Peel,    Sir  Robert 

64 

Spp.  Omnibus 

283 

Pel 

■raju 

„     Separation  of  Judi- 

Sc.    Poverty      and 

cial  and  Executive 

Remedies 

359 

Functions 

295 

Perrazu,  K. 

Military    Training 

Sc.     Swadeshi 

480 

and  Volunteers 

579 

Peter  Paul  Pillai 

Sp.     Poverty 

187 

M.      Forest  Laws 

132 

,,       Police  Reform 

426 

„       Permanent  Settle- 

Parvati Shankar  Choudhuri 

ment 

170 

Sp.     Indebted  n  e  s  a    of 

„       High  Prices  . 

501 

Peasantry 

401 

Sc.    Permanent  Settle- 

Patel, Bomanji 

ment 

153 

Spp.  Self-Governnient  . 

455 

„       Economic  Enquiry 

359 

Patel,   Govinda     Rao    Apaji 

Spp.  Permanent  Settle- 

i-ide Govind 

ment 

382 

Spp.  Educational       Ex- 

Petit, Jehangir  B.  vide  Je 

penditure 

453 

Sp.    Council  R  e  for  m 

496 

Patel,  M.  K.  vide  Manekji 

Ph 

msalkar,  G.  B. 

Patel,  S.  M. 

Sc.    Plague  ex  p  0  n  d  i- 

Sc.    Railway  Service     . 

363 

ture. 

283 

Patel,  S.  B. 

Spp.  Panjab  Land  Alie- 

Spp.   Validity  of  Wakf- 

nation  Bill    . 

295 

i-ala-aulad    . 

460 

Ph 

3ar,  Sir  John  Budd  . 

303 

Pathak,  B. 

Ph 

jrozehah  M.  Metha 

Member  C.   I. 

350 

Member  C.  C.  C.  . 

135 

Patro,  A.  B. 

C.  P.  P.  . 

155 

M.  Higher  education    . 

519 

D.  V.        .    204 

326 

Patro,  A.  P. 

I.    C.    C.     306, 

M.  Local    Self-Govern- 

329, 

413 

ment     . 

537 

S.  C.  C.   . 

439 

„     Indian     exi)edition- 

C.  A.  B.  . 

fiO 

ary  force 

578 

A.  I.          .  345, 

372 

Patvardhan 

Standing     Council     for 

Spp.  British    Contribu- 

Bombay 

94 

tion     to    Military 

Appointed  C.  R.  E. 

95 

Expenditure. 

296 

S.  C.  M.        . 

391 

INDEX    OF    NAMES 


687 


Delivers  P  r  e  s  i  dential 

Address  .  .   108 

Welcomes  delegates  76,  394 
Insulted  iu  the  Surat 
Camp  .  .  .  .468 
Secretary,  Surat  C.  C.  .  470 
Resigns  Presidentship  .  492 
M.    Election  of    Presi- 

sident  59,  353,  375 

,,     Address    to   Brad- 
laugh     .  .  .78 
Sc.    Royal  C  o  m  m  i  s  - 
sion     of     enquiry 
into  Indian  Admi- 
nistration     .  .      10 
„     Presidential   Elec- 
tion.      .          .  .   123 
,,     British  Committee  338 
Spp.  India  Council  abo- 
lition.   . 
,,     Loyalty    to    the 
Throne. 
Arms  Act. 


Sp 
Pillai,  A. 

Sc.     S.  Africa 
Polak,  H.  S.  L. 

Sp.      South  Africa  499, 
Prabhu  Dayal 

Member  C.I. 
Prakasa  Rao,  D.  V. 

Spp.  Indian    E  x  p  e  d  i  - 
tionary  Force 
Pramada     Govinda      Chou- 
dhuri 

Member  I.  C.  C.    . 
Pramathanath 

Sc.     E.xpenditure 
Prannath,  Pandit 

Serves  on  the  P.  S.  C.  . 
Prasad  Basu 

Sc.     S.  Africa 
Prasad  Ram  vide  Ram 
Prasad  Sanksita  vide  Sankati 
Prasadii  Shiva  lide  Shiva 
Pravas  Chandra  Mitra 


M.      Executive  and 

Bench  .  .  .  541 

Prithwinath  Pandit 

Member  I.  C.  C    .         .  330 
A.  I.       .  .  .  345,  372 

Appointed  S.  C.  M.       .  392 

Prithv^is  Chandra  Roy- 
Member  I.  C.  C' 
E.  C. 

Pulin  Behari  Sarkar 
Member  C.  I. 

Pulin  Chandra  Das 

Sc.     Higher  Education  519 

Purushottam  Lai 

Sp.     N.  W.  P.  Troubles  501 

Queen  Empress 


11    ! 

! 

578    I 
67    ! 
i 
341    ; 

542    I 
330 


578 

330 

538 

32 

583 


330 
331 


330 


Radharamankar 
Member  C.  I. 


231,  334,  335, 
397,  444 


333 


Ex- 


Baghubar  Dayal 

Sc.     Educational 

penditure  .  453 

Raghava  Iyer,  G. 

M.      Enquiry  into  Eco- 
nomic condition     .  359 
Raghava  Rao,  G. 

Appointed  S.C.M.  392 
Sc.     Partition    of  Ben- 
gal ..  .  385 
„       Local  Self-Govern- 

ment     .         .         .  516 
Raglumandana  Prasad 

Spp.  Indians     in    Colo- 
nies      .  .  .  513 
Raghunath  Das 

Member  E.  C.       .         .  331 
Raghunath      Rao,       Dewan 
Bahadur 

At  whose  house  the  idea 
of  a     National    Confer- 
ence was  first  conceived        I 
Attended   the   1st  Con- 
gress 5 
Rahimtulla  M.  Sayani 

Serves  on  the  P.S.C.     .     32 


688 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Raiz.tda  Bhagat  Ram 

Spp.   Employment    o  f 

Spp.  Presidential    Elec-- 

Indians 

317 

tioii 

■492 

,,     Poverty 

430 

Raja  of  Ramnad  . 

184 

,,     Council  Reforms  . 

496 

Venkata.tiin      ■ 

3H 

„     Emi  g  r  a  t  i  o  n  to 

Rajpal,  P.   L. 

Canada 

558 

Sc.      Executive  Oouiicil 

„       The   re-uniting    of 

for  U.  P.  and  Pan- 

Bengal 

534 

jah 

315 

„        India  C  o  u  n  c  i  I's 

Spp.  Lvffrr>:   ,h^  Carhi't  . 

482 

Act 

540 

Raj  pal  Kane 

,,        Presidential    elec- 

Sp.    Council  Reforms  . 

496 

tion        .          .  529, 

553 

Raja  Ram   Mohan  Roy 

169 

Ramchand.  M. 

Raja  Rampal  Singii 

Spp.  Repeal    of    Acts  7 

Member  S.  C. 

3S 

and  IS  of  1908       . 

483 

R.  C. 

1).  H.        . 
.M.     T  h  a  n  k  s    to  the 
House    of  C  o  m- 
mons  for  Simulta- 
neous Examina- 
tions Vote     . 

.52 

2U4 

16.S 

Raniachandra    Baldev    Ajjte 
gi\es    a    Hall    for   divi- 
sional Congress 

Ramachandra  Pillai,  R. 

Member  1.  C.  C.     .    307, 
I\[.      Press      coercion 

68 

330 
195, 
302 
216 

Si'.     Presidential    Elec- 
tion 

183 

Sc. 

Sc.     Simultaneous    Ex- 

Ramachandra Rao,  ]\1. 

aminations    . 

190 

Spjj.  Local  Self-Govern- 

Sp.     Volunteering 

22 

ment 

516 

,,       Expenditure  Ccnii- 

Ramkant  Malaviya 

niission 

242 

Spp.  Higher  Education. 

519 

Raja  Rampal  Sinha 

„     South  Africa 

583 

Sp.      Indian      Council's 

Ramakumar  Goenka 

.\ct 

146 

Sc-       C  0  n  c  i  1  i  a  V  i  o  11 

Ilajanikant  Sarkar 

Boards . 

519 

S]i.      Inland  Emigration 

Ram  Lubkaya  Barna 

.\ct   Repeal    . 

240 

Sp]).  Education 

172 

Rajendra    Singh 

,.     Se  p  ar  a  t  i  o  n    of 

Spp.   Military    Colleges 

Judicial  and    Exe- 

and Service   . 

315 

cutive  functi(ms    . 

315 

Rajendralala  Mitra 

Ramnath 

Welcomes  delegates 

16    ■ 

Spp.  Thanks  to 

Death    .          .          . 

123 

Gokhale 

459 

Rambhuj  Dutt 

Ram  Prasad 

Member   D.   V. 

521 

Spp.  Abkari. 

299 

M.       Military  Service   . 

481     ■ 

Rama  Rao,  Raja  T. 

Sc.     Military  Expendi- 

Spp. Presidential  Elec- 

ture 

480 

tion 

77 

INDEX    OV    NAMES 


689 


Rainananda  Chatterji 
Member  E.  C.       . 
Spp.  (Jfficialisint;-    Edu- 
tioTi. 
Ranianujuhi  Xaiflu 

M.   Famine  C  o  m  m  i  s- 
siou. 
Ramaniia,  A. 

Spp.  Self-Gdvernment . 
Ramasaren  Lai  Pandav  ride 

P. 
Ramaswami 

Sf.    Currency. 
Ramaswami  Iyer,    C.  P. 

M.  Separation    of  Judi- 
cial and  Executive 
Functions 
Sc.   Retirement  of  Gen. 

Secretaries  . 
.,       Arms  Act 
Sj)|).  S  e  p  a  r  a  t  i  o  n  of 
.Judicial    and  Exe- 
cutive P^ unctions  . 
,,     .Judicial       Service 

Recruitment. 
,,       Reuniting  of  Ben- 
gal 
Ramaswami  Iyer,  N.  K. 

Sc.     Sepa  rati  o  n   of 
Judicial    and  Exe- 
cutive Functions  . 
Spp   Famine. 
,,        Agriculture  . 
,,       Povei'ty 
Ramaswami  Gupta,  M.  S. 

Sc.     Salt-Tax 
Ramaswami  Mudaliyar,  S.  . 
Made  C.  I.  E. 
M.      Sim  u  1 1  a  n  e  o  u  .« 

Examinations 
,,       Presidential    elec- 
tion 
■>p.     Legislativ^e   Coun- 
cil Reform    . 


Ram  Kali  Choudhuri 

331 

Member  P.  S.  C.   . 

32 

S.  C.        . 

38 

430 

R.  C.        . 
Ranade 

52 

Member  C.  I. 

350 

2G2 

Ranade,  N.  B. 

Spp.  Tibetan  affairs 

405 

455 

„    Military     expendi- 

ture 

425 

Sp.   Universitjr       Com- 

mission Report 

361 

296 

Ranade,  X.  M. 

Spp.    Expenditure    Re- 

trenchment   . 

449 

Ranade  Justice     ride  Maha- 

555 

dev   ....  208, 
Rangachariar,  T. 

513 

562 

Member,  C.  1. 

331 

579 

Rangiah  Naidu,  P. 

F.  C.    . 

2 

Member  R.  C. 

51 

514 

I.  C.  C.    . 

330 

Welcomes  delegates     . 

182 

514 

M.  Militiiry       expendi- 

ture 

12 

535 

Death 

354 

Kamesan 

Sp. 


South  Africa 


405 
341 
343 
430 

236 
51 
81 

183 
62 

280 


Ranjit  Singh,  Dr. 

Sc.     Medical  Service    .  517 
Raoji  Govind 

Member    I.  C.  C.  .  330 

C.  I.       .         .  331 
Sp.    Permanent  Settle- 
ment .         .  456 
Hash  Behari  Ghose 

Welcomes  delegates      .  442 
Delivers       Presidential 
Address         .         .          .  474 
M.      Homage  to  Crown  476 
,.       Berar  Legislation  483 
„        Permanent  Settle- 
ment    .          .          .  4S3 
„       Grief  of  Congress  483 
Sends  telegi-am  to  25th 
Congress        .          .          .512 
Rasul 561 


690 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


PAGE 

Ratannath,  A. 

Spp.  Abkari  .         .  299 

Ratnasabhapati  Pillai,  P. 

Member  C.  I.         .         .  331 
M.      Congiess    Consti- 
tution. .  .  .  282 
Reay,  Lord  .          .          .     8i),   172 
Reynolds,  Herbert  J.  .          .   3u3 
Reza  AH  Khan 

Service  on  the  P.  S.  C.     32 
Riaz-nd-din  Ahmed 

Sc.  Foreign  Telegraph- 
ic Pi'ess  Message 
Bill       .  .         .297 

Ripon,    Lord  77,  275,    li76,    339, 
354,  375,  419,  534 
Risley,  Sir  Herbert      .         .  559 
Roberts,  Lord  216,  3l4,  579 

Romesh  Chundar  Dutt 

Presidential   Address    .  292 
Member  P.  L.  C.  .   3u4 

1    C.  C.   .  .  329 

M.     Congress  Constitu- 
tion.     .  .  .  299 
Thanks    to  Sir  W. 
Wedderburu  .         .  301 
,,        Executive     Coun- 
cils    for    Bombay 
and  Madras  .          .  301 
„       Legislative  Coun- 
cil for  Panjab.        .  303 
„        Berar  A(ln..ni8tra- 

tion.       .  .  .   303 

„        P  a  r  1  i  a  m  e  n  t- 

ary  representation  3C3 
„       Plague     Expendi- 
ture.    .  .  .  303 
„      Gen.      Secretary's 

appointment.  .   303 

„  Separation  of  Judi- 
cial and  Execiiti\e 
Eunctionn     .  .  425 

Sc.    Pi-esidential    P]lec- 

tion  .     .  .  .416 

Visits  Congress     .  450 


Romesh  Chandra  Mitra 

Member  D.  V.       .  .  204 

Welcomes  delegates  .  229 
Presidential  Address  .  292 
M.  Presidential  elec- 
tion .  .  .  108 
Death  .  .  .  293 
Roshan  Lai 

Spp.  Public  Service 
Commission  Re- 
port .  .  .  149 
Sp.  T  hanks  t  o  the 
House  of  Com- 
mons   .  .  168 

Roy,  Dr 239 

Roy,  J.  N. 

Sc.     India      and       the 

general  election    .  431 
Sp.     National      Educa- 
tion      .  .  .  454 
Roy,    Syania     Charan    mde 

Syama 
Rustam  Cama  vide  Cama 

Member  E.  C.       .         .  331 
„        ICC.         .  330 
Sc.     Election    of    Uni- 
versity Fellows    .  317 
„       Famine  Policy       .  317 
Spp.  Separation  of  Judi- 
cial and  lixecutive 
Functions      .  .  362 

Ruth.irford,  Dr.    .  .  .44? 

Ryru,  Nainbier,  Y. 

Member  1.  C.  C    .    307,  330 

„        E.  C         .         .  332 

A.  1.         .    3^15,  372 

S.  C  M.  .  392 

Sc.     Military    expendi- 

tuie       .  .  .  425 

Sabhapati  Mudaliyak,  a. 

Member  S.  C.         .  .     38 

R.  C.         .         .52 

D.  V  .         .  204 

M.       Arms  Act       .  .     50 

Sc.     Excise    duty    on 

Cotton  goods.         .   184 


INDEX    OP    NAMKS 


691 


Sabhapati  Pillai,  R. 

Sc.     Permanbiit  Settle- 
ment 
Sadao'opachariar,  R.  S. 

Separation    of    Judicial 

and  Executive  Functions 
Sadar-ud-din  Ahmed 

Bpp.  Permanent  Settle- 
ment 

Sp.     Anns  Act 
Sadhu  Gana]iati 

Sc.     Self-Government  . 
Sachindra  Prasad  Basu 

Spp.  Swadeshi 
Sahasrabuddhe,  B.  S. 

Omnibus 

Spp.  Local  Self-Govern- 
ment 
Sajjad  Hussain 

Sp.     Police   . 
Salio-ram  Sjingh 

•Member  S.  C. 
R.  C. 

C.  C.  C.  . 

D.  V. 
I.  0.  C.     . 

So.     Military  Service 
Sp.     Proposal    for 
British  Sessions     . 
Salisbury,  Lord  108,  14-4,  3.35, 
Salomon,  Dr.  Erulker 

M.     Medical  Services    . 
Samant,  J.  M. 

Sp.     South  Africa. 
Samarth,  N.  M. 

Member  D.  H.       . 
M.     Permanent  Settle- 
ment 
,,       Military  E.xpendi- 
ture  360,  3S4, 

„       Employment       of 
Indians  424, 

,,       Finance    Commis- 
sion of  enquiry 
Sc.     Omnibus 
,,       Famine 


Sc.     Refurni     of     Indi 

I 

Count-il 

.   556 

.   114- 

Sp.     Poverty 

.  239 

s 

unasamudrftn  Pilhii 

Spp.   Police  Reform 

.   541 

s481 

s 

iminada  Iver,  S.  A. 

MemboV  R.  C.        . 

52 

s< 

uifi:am  Lai,  Lnla 

86 

INI.  Punjab    Land    Alie 

in 

uarion  . 

500 

S; 

uigavani 

582 

Si)p.  Omnibus 

222 

Sankai'am,  S.  B. 

514 

Spp.  Water  Cess   . 

1;I6 

Sa 

nkariin  Nair,  Sir.  C. 

151 

Member  S.  C. 

38 

. 

C.  C.  C.  . 

1.35 

278 

1.    C.  C.     307, 

329 

413 

65 

C.  I. 
M.      Military   expendi- 

330 

37 

ture 

195 

52 

„       Omnibus 

257 

135 

„       Press  coercion 

257 

204 

„       Simultaneous    Ex- 

329 

aminations    . 

257 

47 

„       Thanks  foi- Famine 

Relief  . 

258 

116 

Sc.     Presidential 

401 

election 
Spp.  Thanks     to    Lord 

394 

363 

Reay     . 
„       Presidential    Elec- 

89 

217 

tion 

442 

Sp.  Volunteering  . 

48 

.521 

„       Legislative    Coun- 

cil for  Panjab 

262 

218 

„       General,        Secre- 
tary's a  p  p  o  i  n  t- 

4C5 

ment     . 
Delivers      Presidential 

263 

500 

Address    . 

253 

Sa 

nkatu  Prasad 

518 

Spp.  Poverty 

430 

222 

,,      Local  Self-(ii)vern- 

341 

ment    . 

516 

51 


692 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


PAGE    ! 


Siirat,  K.  Mallick 

M.      Cadet  Corps  .  342 

„        Sanitation     .  .   537 

Sarkar,     Rajanikanta     i-ide 

Raj 
Sai'ma,  B.  N. 

M.      Expenditiire      re- 
trenchment .  .  448 
Sc.     I  n  d  i  an  s  in  the 

Colonies        .  .  425 

,,       Appointment     o  i 

Law  member         .   513 
Delegate  to  England     .  584 
Sarma  G. 

Sc.     Military  Service  .  541 
Sarola  Devi  Ghosal      .  .  333 

Sasanka  Jihan  Rai 

Spp.  Swadeshi       .  .  537 

Sassoon,  Sir  Albert      .  .     75 

Sathe,  A.  S. 

Sc.     Faiiiine    Commis- 

sion       .  .  .   262 

Satischandra  Bannerji 

M.  Separation  of 
Judicial  and 
Executive  F  n  n  c- 
tions  436, 481 

„       Council      Regula- 
tions    .         .         .  518 
Spp.  Elementary    Edu- 
cation .         .         .  539 
Satyanand  Agnihoti'i 

Member  S.  C.        .         .38 

„       R.  C.        .         .     52 

Savani,  R.  M.  vide  Rahimtulla 

Member  I.  C.  C.       3(17,  329 

D.  V.       .         .  326 

Death    .         .         .         .358 

Scott,  Sir  John    ,         .         .303 

Sen,  A.  P. 

M.      Arms  Act      .  .  580 

Sen,  Baikuntanath  vi<]e  Bai 
,,     Guru  Prasad  vide  Guru 
,,     Jotindranath  vide  Joti 
„     Lalit  Chandra  vide  Lalit 
„     Norendranath  vide  Nore 


Senath  Raja 

Sp.    Military  Service   . 

500 

Senkaram,  S.  B. 

Spp.  Omnibus 

81 

Sergeant,  Sir  Charles  . 

303 

Seshadri  Iyer,  Sir 

335 

Seshagiri  Iyer,  T.  Y. 

Member  D.  H. 

521 

Setalwad,  C.  H. 

Member  I.  C.  C.       307, 

330 

E.  C.       . 

331 

M.      Trial  by  Jury 

193 

Sc.    Se])aration  of  Judi- 

cial and  Executive 

Functions       .  215, 

257 

Spp.  Presidental    elec- 

tion. 

252 

„     Separation  of  Judi- 

cial and  Executive 

Functions 

426 

Seth  Mangaldas       Girdhar- 

das 

Sc.     Cotton       excise 

duty.     . 

363 

Setna,  G.  K. 

M.      Public  S  e  r  y  i  c  es 

Grievances    . 

363 

Sliadilal 

Member  E.  C. 

331 

Shakespere  .         .          .          . 

319 

Sham  Narayana 

Spp.  Separation  of  Judi- 

cial and  Executive 

Functions     . 

295 

Shamshoodowla, 

Sc.    Presidential    Elec- 

tion 

108 

Shaik  Fiaz 

Sp.    Council  Regulatior 

518 

Sheikh  Husain 

Sc.     Civil   and    Milita- 

ry Expenditure 

215 

Sp.    Omnibus. 

151 

,,      Famine 

302 

Sheikh  Raza  Hussein  Khan 

Member  D.  V.       . 

204 

INDEX    OF    NAMES 


693 


Spp.  Election  of  Presi- 

dent 

59 

Shaik  Uniar  Bunksh 

Member  D.  V. 

204 

Sheikh  Wahab-ud-din 

Sp.     Permanent  Settle- 

ment    . 

171 

Shelley 

49 

Sheridan 

424 

Shiva  Prasad  Raja 

63 

Sp.     Legislative  Coun- 

cil Reform    . 

62 

Shivaram   Mahadev  Paranj- 

pe 

Sc.     Teaching   Univ^er- 

sity 

239 

Shri  Ham 

F.  C 

2 

Shurf-ud-din 

Member  1).  V. 

204 

_  Appointed  C.  11.  E. 

95 

Sc.     Grievances   . 

88 

Sierwright,  C.  F. 

Sp.     Indians     in    Colo- 

nies 

382 

Simeon,  J. 

Spp.  Employ  m  e  n  t  of 

Indians. 

424 

Sinha,  Uipnarayan  ride  Dip 

Sinha,     Harikishan      r  /  il  e 

Hari 

Sinha,  S. 

Meml)er  I.  C.  C.   .    380 

413 

C.I. 

331 

A.  I.         .    345, 

372 

S.  C.  M.  . 

391 

Member  S.  C.  C.    . 

440 

M.      Separation  of 

Judicial     and 

Executive      Func- 

tions 

315 

„       Police  Reform   341,426 

„       Election  to  Parlia- 

' 

ment     . 

406    ! 

„      Executive    C  o  u  n- 

cil  for  U.  P. 

541    ' 

Sc.    Repeal    of    repres- 
sive Acts        .  .  483 
,,       Law  Member         .  513 
Spjj.   Separation   of 
Judicial     and 
Executive   F  u  n  c- 
tioiis      .          .          .   295 
,,       Police       Commis- 
sion       .          .          .   362 
„       Delegation  to  Eng- 
land      .          .          .402 
Delegate  to  England      .   584 
Sinha,  S.  P. 

M.  Native  Chiefs  .  .  241 
Sitaram  Seth 

Spp.  Currency        .  .  296 

Sivaswami  Iyer  P.  S. 

Sc.     Judicial    Commit- 
tee appointment  .  340 
Smedley 

Spp.  Military        expen- 
diture   .         .         .342 
Smith,  Samuel 

Visitor  at  the  20th  Con- 
gress    .         "  .  .  394 
Somasundaram  Pillai,  S. 

Spp.  Arms  Act  .  .  580 
Sorabji  Knraka 

Spp.  Currency       .  .  360 

Sorabji  Sapurji 

Spi3.  Indians  in  Colonies  542 
Spencer  ....  575 
Srinivasa  Rao,  G. 

Member  1.  C.  C.    .  330 

A.  I.  345,  372 

S.  C.  M.  .         .  391 
M.     Representation    in 

Council  .  .  .  423 

Sc.  Sejiaration  of  Judi- 
cial and  Executive 
Functions       .  .   340 

,,       Military     expendi- 
ture     "  .  .  .   360 
„       Secretary  of  State's 
Salary    .         .         .402 


694 


HOW    INDIA    WEOUGHT    FOR    FEEEDOM 


Spp.  Official  Secrets 
Bill 
„     Removal   of   Coer- 
cive Acts 
Srinivasa  Raghava  Iyengar 
Srinivasa  Varadachari,  N. 
Spp.  Permanent  Settle- 
ment 
Srischandra  Sarbadhikari 

Sc.     Police  Ret'onn 
Stanley',  Lord 

Stead,  W.  T.         .         .         . 
Stephen,      Sir       James 
Fitzjames  85, 

Strachey,  Sir  John 
Subba  Rao,  N. 

Member  D.  H.      . 
Welcomes  delegates 
M.      Judicial  Service  . 
„       Executive     Coun- 
cils 
Sc.     Separation  of 
Judicial    and 
Executive     Func- 
tions    . 
Spp.  Presidential  Elec- 
tion 
Sp.     Trial  by  Jury. 
,,       Legal    Practition- 
ers 
Subra mania  Iyer,  G. 
Member  P.  S.  C.    . 
R.  C.       . 
D.  H.      . 
I.   c 


C. 


289, 
307, 


M. 


C.  I. 

s.  c 

A.  I 
Indian 
tration  . 
Simultaneous 
iiminations    . 
Permanent  Settle 
ment     , 


C.  . 

345 
adminis 

Ex 


384 

536 
258 


382 

405 

84 
447 

261 
110 

521 
270 
191 

258 


169 

511 
65 

218 

32 
52 

204 

330 
331 
440 
372 

9 

234 

241 


M. 


Military    expendi 

ture 

Thanks    to    Presi 

dent 

Famine 

Poverty 

medies 

Tata  Reseai-ch  In 

stitute  . 

Surplus. 


Enquiry 
and    Re 


Sc. 


276 

583 
313 

358 

361 

424 


Thanks  to  Gokhale  45/ 
Press     .  .         .196 

„      Frontier    Military 

Expenditure  .  256 

„       Currency       .    281,3  60 
,,       Employment       of 

Indians     317,381,398 
Spp.  Legislative   Coun- 
cil Reform    .  .     80 
„     University  Bill     .  383 
„      Presidential    Elec- 
tion       .         .         .416 
Sp.     Indian   Finance 

enquiry  .  .    190 

„       Poverty  .  .  339 

,,       Famine  .  .  341 

„      Surplus  .  403 

Subramania  Iver,  S. 

F.  C      .         .         .2 
Member  P.  S.  C.  .     32 

R.  C.       .         .     51 
Welcomes  delegates     .  571 
Sc.     Presidential  Elec- 
tion     -         .         .6,  37 
,,        Reform     of    t  h  e 
Legislative  Coun- 
cil ..  .      11 
,,        Introduction        of 
Reijresentative 
Councils         .  .      19 
„        Permanent  Settle- 
ment    .          .         .86 
Subramaniam,  N. 

Spp.  Pei'manent  Settle- 
ment     .         .         ,  382 


INDEX    OP    NAMES 


695 


Sp.     Separation  of 
Judicial   aud    Exe- 
cutive Functions     . 
Subravardi    .... 
Sukh  Dayal 

Member    I.  C.  C. 
Sukla,  Devi    Prasad     vide 

Devi 
Suleiman,  Haji 

Spp.  South  Africa 
Sultan  of  Turkej"  . 
Sumar,  Haji 

Spp.  South  Africa 
Sundarlal 

Welcomes   deleaates 
Sunder  Singh  Bhatia 

M.       Pan  jab  R  e  li  u  la- 

tions 
Sc.     N.      W.      Frontier 
Province 
Sundaram  Sastri,  C.  Y. 
Sulidararaman,  K. 

Attended  1st  Congress. 
Sundara  Iyer,  P.  R. 

M.      Repeal  of  Regula- 
tions 282, 
,,       Indians     in    Colo- 
nies 
Spp.  Permanent  Settle- 
ment 
Sui'endi'anath  Bannerji 
F.  C. 
Presents  Report    on 

Public  Service 
Member  P.  S.  C.  . 
S.  C. 
R.  C.        . 

C.  C.  C. 
C.P.  P.   . 

D.  V. 
I.  C.  C. 


204, 
306, 
329, 


C.  I. 
A  I. 
Appointed  C.  R.  E. 

S.  G.  M. 


345, 


Appointed  S.  C.  C.         .  440 
Presidential  Address 
47  207,353 

561    i  Insulted     in    the    Con- 

'  gress  Camp  .         .  468 

330  I  M.      L  o  c  a  1     S  e  1  f  - 
Government  .     26 

„       Reform  of  Legisla- 
tive Council        39,  124 
360    j  „       Congress  Sessions.   123 

190    I  „       Exchange   C  o  m  - 

pensation      allow- 
360  ance      .         .         .    17-i 

„       Simultaneous  Exa- 
51]  minations      .         .   190 

„       Famine  .  .  238 

„       Coercive  powers 
497  of  Government      .  258 

,,       Welcome    of  Lord 
507  Cui'zon.  .  .   275 

31  „       Calcutta     Munici- 

pal Act  .  .  297 

5  „       ICmploymeut 

of  Indians         316,  397 

„        Thanks         for 

482  Famine  Policy       .317 

„        Homage  to  Crown  358 

448  „       Omnibus        .         .  364 

,,        British  Committee 
382  and  India      .  .  364 

„        P  1  a  c  e  f  o  r   I9th 
2  Congress       .  .   364 

„        University  Bill     .   382 
26  „       A  p  p  o  i  ntment  of 

32  General  Secretary  386 
37                  „        Presidential  Elec- 

51  tion  252,  312,  394, 

135  492,  511,  529,  572 

155  „       Partition    of  Ben- 

326  gal         .         .         .426 

,,        Grief   of  Congress  456 
413  „       Minto-Morley  Re- 

331  ;  forms    .         .         .467 
372                  „        Council     Reforms  494 

95  ,,       Reuniting  of  Beu- 

391  gal        .         .  .  532 


696 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


M.       Loyalty     to      the 

Throne  .  .  577 

„       Self-Governiiient  .  582 
Sc.     Reform  of  the  Le- 
gislative Councils.     61 
,,      Indian  CounL-ils     .    144 
,,      Congress  Constitu- 
tion       .         .         .282 
„      Thanks   to    Presi- 
dent      .  .  .432 
„      Partition  of    Ben- 
gal         .          .  .  451 
Spp.  Legislative     Coun- 
cil Reform        .  80,  422 
Sp.   Thanks    t  o  t  h  e 

House  of  Commons  167 
„  Public  Service  341,  381 
,,      Council  R  e  g  u  1  a- 

tions      .  .  .  5J8 

,,       Thanks  to  British 

Committee     .  .   519 

Surendranath  Mallick 

Spp.  Reform  in  the  Le- 
gislative  Council .   557 
Sureshwara  Mukerji 

Spp.  Agriculture  .  .  343 

Suweschandra  Bose 

Spp.  Self-Government  .   583 

Swayne,  General  .  .  .   557 

Syamacharan  Roy 

Member  E.  C.        .  .   331 

Syed  Ahmed,  Sir  .         .     62 

Syed  Ali  Usat 

Si)p.  Omnibus.       .  .   3U2 

Syed  Hassan  Iman 

Member  D.  V.       .         .521 
M.      Leftres  de  Cuchet  .   481 
Spp.  Council  Reform    .   496 
„     Separate     Electo- 
rates.     .         .  518 

Sved  Muhammad  Bahadur 

Member  I.  C.  C        330,  413 

sec.  .  440 

Presidential    Address    .   553 

Welcomes   delegates     .  374 


M. 

Presidential  Elec- 

tion 

474 

,, 

Militaiy  Service    . 

561 

,, 

Education 

.561 

,j 

Executive  and 

Bench 

561 

,j 

Swadeshi 

561 

,, 

Indentured  labour 

.561 

,, 

Local  Self-Govern- 

ment 

.561 

,, 

Council       Regula- 

tions 

561 

,, 

Executive    C  o  u  n- 

cils   for  U.  P.  and 

Panjab 

561 

,, 

Deputation          t  o 

England 

561 

,, 

Thanks  to  B.  C.     . 

561 

Sc. 

Welcome  to  Lord 

Curzon 

275 

)) 

Pi-esidential  Elec- 

tion      .         .    442, 

572 

Spp 

.  Presidential  Elec- 

tion 

474 

Sp 

Death  of  J.  Ghose 
and  P.  R.  Sundara 

Iyer 

554 

Tahilram,  Khen  Chand 

Member  I.  C.  C.       307, 

330 

Tarakan 

ith  IMitra 

Sc. 

Panjab  Regulation 

Province 

318 

Tarapad 

1  Banner  ji 

Member  C.  I. 

330 

Sc. 

Criminal   P  r  o  c  e- 

dure 

275 

,, 

Periodical    Parlia- 

mentary enquiries 

423 

Tata,  Ml 

359 

Tata,  J. 

N. 

Member  C.  I, 

331 

Tej  Bah 

idur  Sapru 

Member  E.  C.        . 

331 

M. 

Executive     Coun- 

cils 

496 

)» 

Behar  Province    . 

535 

IKDKX    OF    NAMES 


697 


PAGE 


Sc.      Council      Ref^ula- 
tions     . 
„       Executive  Council 
for  U.  P.       . 
SpiJ.  Leftres  cle  Cachet 
Tej  Nai-ayan  Singh 

Sp.     Industrial    Condi 
tion 
Telang,  K.  T. 

F.  C.      . 
M.      Reform,     Legisla 

ti^^e  Council.        11 
M.A.   Permanent     Set 

tlemeut 
Spp.  Presidential  Elec 

tion 
Sp.     Educational       ex 
penditure 
Temple,  Sir  Richard    . 
Thakore,  D.  P. 

M.       S.    African   Ques 
tion 
Thakore  Das 

M.      Agriculture  . 
Tilak,   B.  G.  255 

Delegate     to    5th    Con 
orress.    . 


Member,  I.  C.  C. 
E.  C. 
„         C.  1.        . 
M.      Provincial  Finance 
„        Poverty. 
M.A.  Legislative  Coun 

oil  Reform     . 
Sc.     Civil  Medical  Ser 

vice. 
„       Education    C  o  m 

mission. 
„       D  e  1  e  g  a  t  i  o  n  t  o 

England 
Spp.  Permanent  Settle 
ment 
„      Swadeshi 
Sp      Arras  Act 
„       Pei-manent  Settle 
ment     .         . 


Sp.    Famine  enquiry    .  314 
518         Totarani  Senadhya 

Sc.     Indentui'ed  labour  583 
541        Trailokyanath  Mitra 
482  Member  S.  C.         .  .37 

R.  C.        .         .     52 

M.  „  .         .     38 

69  Tribhuvandas  Malvi 

163    ;  Welcomes  delegates      .  466 

2    !    Tripathi,  G.  M. 

Sp.     Education — Uni- 
,  61    j  versity     Commis- 

sion      .         .  .  361 

70  Tulsi  Ram 

Sp.     Excise  duty  .  221 

6        Uma  Shankar 

Spp.  India  Councils  Act  146 
68        Umar  Bukshi 
41  Member  C.  I.         .         .  350 

Umrao  Mirza  Hairat 

Sp.      Public   Service 
360  Commission  .  149 

Upadhye,  A.  D. 
320  So.     Salt-Tax        .         .  221 

289        Upasani,  S.  B. 

Spp.  Loyalty  to  Throne  578 
78        Utamlal  Trivedi 

330  Spp    Educational       ex- 

331  penditure       .  .  483 
350    .    Vaidya,  C.  V. 

234  Spp.  National  Education  454 

430  Sp.     Partition  of  Bengal  427 

Vaidya,  V.  P. 
80  Sc.     Election  to  Parlia- 

ment    .  .         .  406 

218        Varrna,    Ganga  Prasad  vide 

Ganga 
342        Varma,  K.  B. 

Spp.  Cadet  Corps  .  342 

402        Vasudeva  Ij'engar 

I  S.  C.  M.'"   .         .         .392 

218    !    Vasudeva  Pillai,  V.  G. 
454    I  Spp.  Indians    in     Colo- 

129    I  nies       .         .         .382 

[    Vasudeva  Rao,  Harihar 
171    '  Spp.  Queen-Empress     .  233 


698 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    PREKUOM 


Veukatapijiali,  M.  P. 

Sc.     National       Educa- 
tion      .         .         .  454 
Veiikata  Rao,  K. 

M.       India    and    t  li  e 

(loufc.ral  Election  .  431 
Venkata  llao  Gutikar 

Spp.  Trial  by  Juiy         .  215 
Venkata  Reddy,  K. 

Spp.  Military    Colleges 

and  Volunteers     .  5*79 
Venkatarania  Naidu,  C 

Spp.  Thanks    to    House 

of  Commons.         .  16s 
Venkataratnam,  G. 

Member  I.  CO..         .  '^^'1 
M.      Water  cess    .         .   196 
„        Permanent  Settle- 
ment    .  .  .    275 
Sc.     Permanent  Settle- 
ment    .          .  .218 
„       Poverty          .  .  329 
Venkataratnam,  M.  V. 

Member  CI.         .  .  331 

Venkatasubba  Iyer 

Sc.     Trial  by  Jury        .  215 
Spp.  C  r  i  m  i  n  a  1  P  r  o- 

cedure  .  .  .  275 

Venkatasubba  Rao,  R. 

Sp.     S  i  m  u  1 1  a  n  e  o  us 

Examinations        .    190    | 
Venkateswai-alu,  V. 

Sc.     Permanent  Settle- 
ment    .  .  .   538 
Vijayakumar  Rose 

M.     Police  Reform        .   405 
Vijayaraghavachariar,  C. 

Member  R.  C.        .         .     52 
1.  C.  C.    .    307,  330 
E.  C         .         .  332 
A.  I.       .         .         .  345,  372 
M.      Appointment      o  f 
Gokhale    as    dele- 
gate to  England    .   431 
„       Permanent  Settle- 
ment    .  .  .  456 


Spp.  Presidential    Elec- 
tion       .  .  .312 
Vijavaranga  Mudaliyar,  C. 

F.  C.         .         .2 
Vinayak,  Deo  vide  Deo 
Viraraghavachariar,  M 

Member  C.  CO..         .   135 
CO.         .         .  413 
Attended  1st  Congress  .       6 
Wrote  a  Tamil  Congress 
Catechism     .  .      35 

Sp.     British    Sessions 

proijosed         .         .116 
Death    .  .  .  .447 

Vishnu  Moreshwar  Bhide 

Welcomes   delegates     .   206 
Member  C.  C.  C.  .         .   135 
D.  V.       .         .  204 
Vishnupada  Chatterji 

Sp.    Poverty  .  .    187 

Vithaldas  D  a  m  o  d  a  r  d  a  s 
Thackersay 

M.      Currency      .         .  360 
Vithal  Laxrnan 

Sp.     South  Africa  .   217 

Voelskar,  Dr.       .         .         .  34-9 
AVacha,  D.  E. 

Member  C.  C.  C    .         .   135 
I.   C.    C.    289, 

3t7,329,  413 
P.  L.  C.  .         .   304 
C.  1.        .         .  331 
A.  I.      .         .         .  345,  372 
S.  C. M.         .         .         .  391 
Secretary  Surat  C.  C.  .  470 
„      "  S.  C.  C  .  440 

C.  L.  T.         .  304 
Presidential  Address    .   335 
Witness  before   the  Fi- 
nance C  o  m  m  i  s- 
sion       .  .  .   242 

General  Secretary  dur- 
ing   several  years 
M.      R  e  p  r  e  s  entative 

Councils        .  .      19 

„       Abkari.         .         .  112 


INDEX    OF    NAMKS 


699 


M. 


Sc. 


Spp 


Currency  151,  281, 
Militaiy  Expendi- 
ture 152, 
Prostitution 
Indian  Mints 
Cotton     Excise 
duty         184,  221, 
Civil  and  Military 
expenditure  . 
I)  e  p  u  t  a  t  i  on  to 
Viceroy 

Death     of  Queeii- 
Enipress,  etc. 
Homage     to    t  lie 
Crown  . 

Death  of  Ranade  . 
Omnibus 

Employment       o  f 
Indians 

Thanks  to  B.  C.    . 
Expenditure 
Military   Expendi- 
ture 12, 
Abkari  . 
Salt-Tax 

Presidential  Elec- 
tion 142, 

,  Ideal    of  Relf-Go- 


296 

256 
169 
173 

363 

214 

318 

338 

338 
338 
350 

379 
406 
537 

195 

81 

113 

511 


Sc. 


Indians  in  Coloni- 
es ... 
to     Lord 


44S 


vernment 

556 

1 

)) 

High  Prices 

501 

Reuniting  of  Ben- 

„ 

gal         ..         . 
Presidential  Elec- 

533 

„      t 

tion 

292 

Sp 

Military  Expendi- 

" 

ture 

126 

,J 

Exchange     C  o  m- 

" 

pensation      allow- 
ance 

175 

" 

V'adia, 

H.  A. 

„ 

M. 

Military    expendi- 
ture outside  Fron- 

" 

tier 

216 

Military    expendi 

ture 

424 

Westland 

Spp.  Thanks 

Keay     .  .  .90 

Sp.     Repressive    meas- 
ures      .  .  .  428 
Wadia,  N.  A. 

M.       Tibetan  Attairs     .  404 
Wahab-ud-din 

Spp.  Indian        Councils 

Act        .  .  .146 

Wallace         ....   253 
Webb,   Alfred 

Presidential  Address     .   183 
Member  I.  C.  C.  .  329 

M.      Congress     Consti- 
tution  .         .         .    197 
South  Africa  .    197 

Wedderburn,  Sir  William 
Presidential  A  d  d  r  o  s  s 

77,  78,  511 
Recipient   of  Thanks  of 
Congress        .  .         .    140 

Member  I.  C.  C.    .  .   329 

B.  C.  .  .  94 
Visitor  20th  Congress  .  394 
President  D.  H      .  .   521 

M.      Delegation  to  Eug- 

land!      .  .  .  402 

Death    of  Edward 
VII        ..         .  512 
Homage   to  George 
V  .  .  .  .  512 

Reforms    in  C.  P., 
and  I'anjab  .  .   519 

Reduction  of  Cable 
rates    .  .  .519 

Simultaneous  Ex- 
aminations .  .  519 
Omnibus  .  .519 
Political  Prisoners  519 
Amendments  t  o 
Constitution  rules  519 
All  India  C.  C.  .  519 
.  214 


700 


HOW    INDIA    WKOUGHT    1"0R    FREEDOM 


White,  D.  S. 

So.      Siiuultaueous    Ex- 
am inatious    . 
Wilberforce 
Wilson,  Sir  Roland,  K. 
Yajnik,  J.  U. 

M.      Thanks     to     Lord 
Reay 
Yatindranath  Choudhuri 
Member  I.  CO.. 
M.      Agriculture  . 
Sc.      Provincial  Finance 
,,       Omnibus 
Younghusband 
Yule,  George 

Member  B.  C. 

C.  R.  E  95, 

Presidential  Address     . 


11 
534 
303 


89 

330 
343 
234 

302 
217 

94 

120 

59 


Sc.  Grievances 
,,    Protest  against  Ben- 
gal    Government's 
Order    prohibiting 
Government      Ser- 
vants from  attend- 
ing Congress 
„     Death      . 
Yusuf  Hasan 

Spp.  Presidential   Elec- 
tion 
,,      Sedition  Acts 
S]i.     Council       Regula- 
tions 
Zaigam-ud-Dowlah,  Prince 
Sc.     Congratulations  to 
Queen -Empress    . 


112 


115 
143 


511 
517 

518 


233 


ADDENDUM   TO   THE   INI)J<]X 

Index  to  thk  27Tir  Congress  Kksoja'tions 


1  All-India  C  o  h  g  r  c  s.s 
Committee  for  1913       .  ClU 

2  A  p  p  o  i  n  t  m  e  n  t    of 
General    Secretaries     .  610 

3  Constitution      of   the 
Congress        .         .  .  609 
M.     R.    N     Miiilliolkar  6l)3 

4  Council  Regulations  and 
Amendments  .         .  606 
M.      S.  Sinha        .         .  601 
Sc.     Dwarkanath  .   601 
Spp.  C.  Y.  Cliintamaui     60l 

„     A.    S.    K  r  i  s  h  n  a 

Rao        .         .  .601 

„     G  o  k  a  r  a  n  n  a  th 

Misra    .  .  .  6ol 

,,     R  a  m  b  h  u  j    Dutt 

Choudhuri     .  .  6ul 

„     S  u  r  e  n  d  r  a  n  ath 

Mallick.  .  .601 

„     Tej  Bahadur  Sapru  60 1 

5  Education    .         .         .  608 
M.  Sachindra       Prasad 

Bose      .  .         .  602 

Sc.     C.     P     Rama- 

swami    Iyer.  .  602 

Spp.  R.  C.  Ghoso  .  602 

„       A.  B.  Patro  .  602 

,,       Ramanbhai  Mahi- 

patram  .         .  602 


6  Executive  Councils    for 
Panjab  and  U.P.   .  .  607 
M.     Motilal  Nehru        .  601 
Sc.     Chail          Bihari 

Lai        .  .         .  601 

7  Grief  and  Indignation 
of  the  Congress  at  the 
Delhi  outrage  on  Lord 
Hardinge  .  .  .  604 
M.  Surendranath  Ban- 
ner ji                .  .  .598 

Sc.     D.  E.  AYacha  .  598 

Spp.  Krishna  Sahai  .  598 
„  Lala  LajpatRai  .  598 
„       Madan     M  o  li  a  n 

Malaviya        .  .  598 

„       N.  Subba  Rao       .  598 
,,       Syed   Muhammad 

Ismail  .  .   598 

8  Grief  for  the  death  of 

A,  O.  Hume  .         .  604 

M.      B  h  u  p  e  udi-anatli 

Basu     .         .         .  598 
Sc.     Pt.  Motilal    .         .  598 

9  High  Courts  .         .  609 
M.     R.  N.  Mudholkar  .  603 

10  Land  Settlement .  .   609 
M.     R.  N.  Mudh(,lkar  .   603 

11  Law  Membership.  .  6u8 
M.      R.  N.  Mudholkar  .  602 


702 


HOW    INDIA    WROlMiHT    FOR    KRKKDOM 


12  Locul  Sclf-Governnieut 
M,       S.   V.    Narasiniha 

Ra(,        . 
Sc.      N.  A.  Dravid 
Spp.  Arikshau  Sinha 

13  MiMT,^RY  Service  for 
Indians 

M.       C.    V.    S.  Nara  - 

siuha  Raj 
Sc.     Prakasa    Rao 

14  Next  Session  of  the 
Congress 

15  Provincial  Autououiy. 
M.       Sureiidranath 

Bannerji 
Sc.     D.  A.  khare 
Spp.  Shaslianka     Ji\an 

Roy 

16  Public   Expenditure 
M.      R.  N.  Mudholkar. 

17  Public  Service  Comtnis- 
sion  .... 
M.     N.  Subba  Rao 

Sc.  Baikunthanath  Sen 
Spp.  D.  G.  Dalvai 

,,      Dwarkanath 

„  Gr  o  ka  r  a  n  n  a  t  h 
Misra 

,,  Hirdiiyanath  Kun- 
zru 

,,       Nilaratan   Sircar  . 

„       R.  Ranjit  Singh     . 

,,      B.  Sai'badhikari    . 

18  Sanitation   . 

M.  G.  K.  Devadhar  . 
Sc.     Ranjit  Singh 

19  Separate  J]lectorates  . 
M.     B.  N.  Mudholkar  . 

20  South  AfricanGi'ievanc- 

es.  .  .  . 

G.  K.  Gokhale       . 

Madan    Mohan 

Malaviya 

C.   Y.  Chintamani 

H  a  r  i  s  c  h  a  n  dra 

Bishandas     . 


606 

„      Kedarnath   . 

599 

„      Lala  Lajpat  Rai 

599 

600 

„      Madanjit 

599 

600 

„      Mazarhal  Haque 

599 

600 

„      Pramatnath    Ban- 

nerji 

599 

609 

21  Swadeshi 

606 

M. 
Sc. 

Spp, 


603 
603 

610 
606 

601 
600 

601 
609 
6(3 

605 
599 
599 
599 
599 

599 

599 
599 
599 
599 
608 
602 
602 
607 
602 

604 
599 

599 
599 

599 


M.      A  m  b  i  k  a  c  h  aran 

Mozumdar     .         ,  600 
Sc.     V.  V.  Jogiah  ,         .  600 

22  Thanks  to  the  British 
Committee  which  is  to 
be    maintained   as  well 

as  India  .         .  .    608 

23  Thanks     to    Mr.    G.  K. 
Gokhale  .  .  608 
M.      T  e  j     li  a  li  a  d  u  r 

Sapru     .         .         ,  603 
Sc.    Krishna  Sahai        .  603 

24  Thanks  to   Government 
for  establishing    Legis- 
lative Councils  for  C.P. 
and  Assam     .  .  .  608 
M.     K.  A.  Mundle  .  602 
Sc.    G.  N.  Kane             .  602 


GENERAL  INDEX 

Delegates  and  Visitors  to 
the  Bankipur  Congress  .  595 

Morley's  (Lord)  view  of  the 
Village  Panchayat  sys- 
tem. .    "     .  .  600 

Peculiarities  of  the  Con- 
gress Pavilion  at  Banki- 
pur .....  595 

Recital  of  a  poem  on  Unity 
between  the  Hindus  and 
the  Muslims    .  .         .   598 

Telegram  to  the  Viceroy 
on  the  Delhi  outrage       .  598 

Telegram  from  the  Viceroy 
in  acknowledgment         .  598 


INDEX 


703 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 

Ambikacharan   Mozumdar 

M.      Swadeshi      .         .  600 
Sc.     Presidential   Elec- 
tion      .         .         .  596 
Arikishan  Sinha 

S])p.  Local    Self- ^Gov- 
ernment        .  .   600 
Baikunthanath  Sen 

Sc.       Public  S  e  r  \-  i  c  e 

f!:rievances     .  .   5"9 

Bayley,  Sir  Charles  .    596 

Bhupendranath  Basu 

M.      Grief  for  death  of 

A  0  Hume    .         .  598 
Bose,  Sachindra  Prasad  vide 

Sa 
Chail  Bihari  Lal 

Sc.  Executive  Council 
for  Panjab  and 
U.  P.      .  .  .  601 

Chintamani,  C.  Y. 

Spp.  South    African 

grievances     .  .  599 

Crewe,   Lord  .  .  .601 

Dalvi,  D.  G. 

Spp.  Public    Service 

Commission  .  599 

Devadhar,  G.  K. 

M.       Sanitation     .  .  602 

Dravid,  N.  A. 

Sc.     Local      S  e  1  f- 

(loveniment  .   600 

Dwarkanath 

Sc.     Council  R  e  g  u  1  a- 
tions  and   Amend- 
ments   .         .  .  601 
Spp.  Public    Service 

Commission  .  .   600 

Ghose,  R.  C. 

Spp.  Education      .         .  602 
Gokarannath 

Spp.  Public    Service 

Grievances   .         .599 


,,     Council  R  e  g  u  1  a- 
tions  and  Amend- 
ments .         .  .  601 
Gokhalo   G.  K. 

M .       South    African 

Grievances    .         .  599 
Sc.     Presidential   Elec- 
tion       .  .  .596 

II A  RISCH  AXDRA  BiSHA  N  IJA  S 

Sp]).  South    A  f  r  i  c  a  n 

Grievances    .         .  599 
Harikishan  Lal 

Sc.     Presidential  Elec- 
tion      .         .         .  596 
Hasan  Inunn 

Invites      Congress     t  o 
Bankipur       .  .  .   595 

Hirda^anath  Mozumdar 

Spp.  Public  S  e  r  v  i  c  e 

Commission.  .   529 

JOGIAH,  V.   V. 

Sc.     Swadeshi.     .  .  600 

Kane,  G.  N. 

Sc.  Thanks  to  Govern- 
ment for  Estab- 
lishing Legislative 
Council  for  C.  P. 
and  Assam     .  .  602 

Kedaruatli 

Spp.  South  African  Grie- 
vances. .         .  599 
Khare,  D.  A. 

Sc.      Provincial    Auoto- 

nomy     ,  .  .601 

Krishna  Rao,  A.  S. 

Spp.  Couucil      Regula- 
tions and  Amend- 
ments   .         .  601 
Krishna  Sahay 

Sc.      Thanks     t  o     M  r. 

(iokhale.        .  .   603 

Lala  Lajpat  Rai 

Sp-.    Grief  at  Delhi 

Outrage        .         .    598 
„       South    African 

Gi-ievances    .         .  599 


704 


HOW    INDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Ma  DAN  JIT 

Spp.  South      African 
Grievances    . 
Madan  Mohan  Malaviya 

Sc.     Presidential"  Elec- 
tion 
Mnharaja-Kuniar  of  Tikari 
Sc.     Presidential    Elec- 
tion 
Mazarhal  Hacpie 

Delivers       Presidential 
Address 

Spp.  South    A  f  r  i  c  a  n 
fii-ievances 
Meston,  Sir  James 
Motilal,  Pandit 

Sc.     Grief  for  the  death 
of  A.  <).  Huine 
Motilal  Nehru 

M.       Executive  Council 
for     Pan  jab     a  n  d 
U.  P.     . 
Morley,  Lord 
Mudholkar,  R.  N. 

Delivers       Presidential 

Address 

M.      Constitution       o  f 

Congress 
„       High  Courts 
„       Land  Settlement  . 
,,       Law    Membership 
,,        Public  expenditure 
„        Separate      Electo- 
rates 
Mundle,  R.  A. 

M.      Thanks  to  Govorn- 
nient     for    giving 
Legislative    Coun- 
cils  for  C.  P.    and 
Assam 
Nauasimi'A  Raj,  C.  V.  S. 
M.      Military      Service 
for  Indians    . 
Narasimha  Rao,  S.  V. 

M.     Local  Self-Govern- 
ment     . 


51)0 
5i)6 

596 

599 
596 

59S 


601 
600 


596 


Nilratan  Sircar 

Spp.    P  Ti  1)  1  i  c   Service 

Commission  .  .  599 

Patko,  a.  B. 

Spp.  Education     .  .   602 

Prakasa  Rao 

Sc.  Military  Service 
for    Indians  .  .  603 

Pramathanath  Bannerji 

Spp.  South   African 

Grievances    .         .  599 
RambhujDuit    Choudhuri 

Spp.  Education       .  .   602 

Ramaswami  Iyer,  C.  P. 

Sc.  Education        .  .  602 

Ranjit  Singh,  R. 

Sc.  Sanitation        .         .  6o2 
Spp.  Public     S  e  r  V  i  ce 

Commission  .  .   599 

,,      Council       Re gu  - 
lations  and  Amend- 
ments   .         .         .  601 
Ripon,  Lord  .  .  .  606 

Sachindra  Prasad  Bose 

M.  Education  .  .   602 

Sarbadhicari,  Dr. 

S]3p.  Public  Service 


603 

Grievances    . 

599 

603 

Shashanka  Jivan  Roy 

603 

Spp.  Provincial   A  u  t  o- 

602 

Homy     . 

601 

603 

Sinha,  S. 

602 

M.      Council      RegiUa- 
t  i  o  n  s         and 

Amendments 

601 

Subba  Rao,  N. 

M.      Public    Service 

Commission. 

599 

602 

Sc.     Presidential    elec- 

tion 

596 

Surendranath  Bannerji 

603 

M      Presidential  El  e  c- 

tion 

596 

,,      Grief     for      Delhi 

600 

outrage. 

598 

INDEX 


705 


PAGE 

M.      Provincial       Auto- 
nomy    .  .  .   601 
Sui-enrlranath  Mallick 

Spp.  Council  R  e  gu  la- 
tions  and  Amend- 
ments  .         .         .  601 


PAGE 

Te.i  Bahadur  Sapru 

M.      Thanks     to       Go- 

khale     .         .         .603 
Wacha,  D.  E. 

Sc.     Grief    for    Delhi 

outrage.         .         .  598 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  TO  INTRODUCTION 


Title 


Author 


Publishers 


Prosperous   British 
India 

Poverty    and     Un- 
British  Rule  in  India 

Economic     History    of 
British  India 


William  Digby 


Dadabhai  Naoroji 

Romesh    Chandra 
Dutt 


Government  of  India     i  S  i  r        Courtenay 


Law  of  Municipal 
Corporations  in 
British  India 

Iniijerial  Gazetteer  of 
India, Vols.  II  and  IV 


New  India 


Indian  National 
Congress 

Speeches  of  G.  K. 
Gokhale 

The  Struggle  between 
the  Mahrattas  and 
the  Mosrals 


A  Brief  History  of  the 
Indian  People 

The  Indian  Empire, 
Its  People,  History, 
and  Products 


Ilbert 


P.  Durais  warn  i 
Iyengar 


H.  J.  S.  Cotton 


Mukund    Waman- 
rao  Burway 


W.  W.  Hunter 


iT.  Fisher  Unwin, 
London 

Swan  Sonnen- 
schein,  London 

Kegan  Paul, 
Trench,  Trubner 
&  Co.,  London 

Clarendon  Press, 
Oxford 


Guardian  Press, 
Madras 

Clarendon    Press, 
Oxford 


Kegan       Paul 
Trench  &  Co. 

G.  A.   Natesan  & 
Co.,  Madras 


Printed  at  The 
T  a  t  V  a-Vi  v  e- 
chaka  Press, 
Bombay 

Morrison  &  Gibb, 
Edinburerh 


Sir   William  Wil-  I W.  H.  Allen  &  Co. 
son  Hunter  !      Ltd.,  London 


708 


HOW    IKDIA    WROUGHT    FOR    FREEDOM 


Title 


Author 


Publishers 


Travels  and  Travellers 
in  India,  A.i).  1400^- 
1700 

Progress  of  the  Madras 
Presidency  during 
the  last  forty  years 
of  British  Adminis- 
tration 

India.  Forty  years  of 
progress  and  reform: 
being  a  sketch  of  the 
life  and  times  of 
Behramji  M.  Mala- 
bari 

India  and  Her  People 


Kise  of  the  Maratha 
Power 

'  The  Arya  Samaj  "  : 
An  account  of  its 
aims,  doctrine  and 
activities  with  a 
biographical  Sketch 
of  the  Pounder 

A  History  of  Civilis- 
ation of  Ancient 
India  in  2  Vols. 
[Baaed  on  Samskrit 
Literature.] 
(B.C.  2000  to  320.) 

(B.C.  320  tn  A.I).  1000.) 

An  Essay  on  the 
Civilisation  of  India, 
Chiiui  and  Japan 


Edward  F  a  r  1  a  y 
Oaten 


Dewan  Bahadur 
S.  Srinivasa 
Raghavaiyangar 


R.  P.  Karakaria 


Swanii 
nand 


Abheda- 


M.  G.  Ranade 


Kegan  Paul, 
Trench,  Trubnsr 
&  Co.,  London 


Printed  by  the 
Supt.,  Govt. 
Press,  Madras 


Henry  Frowde. 
O.xford  Univer- 
s  i  t  y  Press, 
Warehouse, 
London,  E.  C. 

The  V  e  d  a  n  t  a 
Society,  New 
York 

Punalekar    &  Co., 


Lajpat  Rai 


Romesh    Chandra 
Uutt 


G.  Lowes 

son 


Dickin- 


Bombay 


Longmans,  Green 
&Co. 


Kegan  Paul, 
Trench,  Trubner 
&  Co.,  Ltd. 


J.     M.     Dent 
I      Sous,  Ltd. 


&\  1914 


BIBLIOGRAPHY    TO    INTRODUCTION 


709 


Title 

Author 

Publishers 

Date 

Voyages  de  Bemier 

Fran(;ois  Bernier 

Paul  Marret  Ams- 

terdam 

1699 

Tavernier's  Travels  in 

India      (origin  a  1  1  y 

published  in  French 

Jean    B  a  p  t  i  s  t  e 

Bangabasi    Office, 

in  1676) 

Tavemier 

Calcutta 

1905 

Early  History  of  India 

(including     Alexan- 

Clarendon    Press, 

der's  campaigns) 

Vincent  A.  Smith 

Oxford 

1908 

History       of       Indian 

Shipping  and   Mari- 

tinift    Activity    from 

Radhakumud 

Longmans,  Green 

the  earliest  times 

Mookerji 

&  Co.,  London 

1912 

Critical  and  Historical 

Longmans,  Green, 

Essays  in  2  Vols. 

Lord  Macaulay 

Long  mans 
Roberts     & 

Green,  London 

1864 

Manual     of     the     Ad- 

ministration   of    the 

Printed      at      the 

1885 

Madras     Presidency 

Govt.     Press, 

& 

in  B  Vols. 

Madras 

1893 

The     Imperial    Gazet- 

Published     under 

teer  of  India :  Vol.  II 

the      Authority 

Historical,    Vol.    IV 

of  His  Majesty's 

Administration 

Secretary        o  f 

1907 

State  for   India 

Clarendon    Press, 

& 

in  Council 

Oxford 

1908 

Children      of      the 

Annie  Besant  and 

The       Board      o  f 

Motherland 

others 

Trustees,     Cen- 
tral     Hindu 

College,     Bena- 

1906 

res 

Indian  Unrest 


lir         Valentine  I  Macmil Ian   &  Co., 
Chirol  London 


ERRATA 

Page 

Line 

For 

Read 

XL  VI 

11 

from  top 

Suraj 

Suja 

Lr 

5 

from  bottom 

Imperial  The  Viceroy's 
Council          Council 

157 

5 

from  top 

IV 

III 

>} 

6 

;> 

V 

IV 

278 

5 

from  bottom 

IX 

X 

j> 

2 

>} 

X 

XI 

320 

2 

}> 

XIII 

XXIII 

360 

11 

}} 

VI 

VII 

362 

11 

from  top 

Amhalal 

Ambalal 

,dt) 

5 

}} 

XV 

XVI 

406 

8 

.'> 

XVI 

XVII 

501 

11 

5> 

XVIII 

XX 

}} 

22 

3" 

XIX  read 

Settlement, 

Permanent 
XXI 

23  From  "  Resolution  XX  "  to  end  of 

line  24— to  be  deleted. 

603  8  from  bottom       XXIII  XXl 

6  „  XXII  XXIII 


Printed  by  Annie  Besant  at  Tlie  Vasanta  Press,  Adyar, -Madras. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    000  880  454    4 


